Sponsorship & Marketing

Europe is not only ready for stadium naming rights but the first companies to enter the market will get the best deals, said Charles Aster of New York-based attorneys Coudert Brothers during an afternoon work-shop at Sport Business 2000.

Judging the success of a sponsorship on consumer recall is `totally flawed? according to Michael Payne, marketing director of the IOC, speaking on the second day of SportBusiness 2000.

Following yesterday?s announcement that William Burkhardt has been promoted to the new position of executive vice president, ESPN International and Enterprises, ESPN President George Bodenheimer has announced further senior executive promotions.

Rights fees for the major sports properties are set to keep on rising ? according to a panel of experts at the SportBusiness 2000 conference.

Former soccer pro, Josef Nehl (38), has been named head of the Outside Broadcasting Division of German company, WIGE MEDIA.

Sports.com (www.sports.com), the leading UK internet sports site, is to launch a #6.25m integrated marketing campaign.

Adidas-Salomon has assumed full control of its subsidiary in Portugal. Following the acquisition of the entire 49% stake previously held by Portuguese investors, Adidas-Salomon now has a 100% shareholding in Adidas Portugal, which has been transformed into a stock corporation.

Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers have named Pepsi the `Official Soft Drink of Comerica Park? as part of a new, multiyear agreement.

British football and other sports clubs look set to cash in on their booming popularity by offering a wide range of affinity credit cards and insurance and savings policies, a research report has predicted.

The US Olympic Committee has hired Hernando Madronero a former associate of new CEO Norm Blake at two insurance companies, as the USOC?s director of international relations.

Attendance at Saturday's UK Grand National rose more than 20 percent despite a heavy security presence.

On the day that News Corps and Vivendi have proposed a joint shareholding of their digital businesses, European media big-hitters Bertelsmann, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert and Pearson (PTV) have agreed to merge CLT-UFA, Europe's leading commercial television and radio broadcaster, with Pearson Television, the independent television production company.

Fuxito.com, the soccer lifestyle site, has launched a Spanish version of their interactive site.

American Express and General Motors Buick have extended their sponsorship deals with the US WNBA.

Hong Kong-based giant screen specialists Lighthouse Technologies has acquired Pixelite from Avesco plc, creating the world's most broadly-based giant screen sales and installation operation with offices across the globe.

A study on trends in English football by the German research company, Sport + Markt, has revealed 19.5m