Stadia

Snai, Italy's leading betting shop operator, expects turnover to grow by 20-25 percent in 2001, CEO Maurizio Ughi said on Thursday.

Supporters of Premier League soccer club Charlton Athletic are prepared to pay #25,000 ($36,000) each to help finance the redevelopment of the club?s North Stand. The club wrote to around 300 of its wealthiest supporters for help in raising the #9m ($13m) needed to expand capacity at the Valley from 20,000 to 34,000. Around 100 fans have agreed to pay the #25,000 and will receive a seat in the stand for life.

Officials in Japan have announced the completion of the Oita Big Eye stadium, which will be used for 2002 soccer World Cup.

Major League Baseball?s Florida Marlins could be set for a new home in downtown Miami after the city commission approved a site by the Miami River.

South Korean soccer fans have applied for more than one million tickets for the 2002 World Cup finals, four times the number of seats offered in the first round of sales, organisers said on Thursday.

The Singapore Sports Ministry has unveiled a budget of S$500 million over five years for sports, and outlined plans for a new complex that aims to turn Singapore into a hub for world-class sporting events.

The tiny South Pacific state of Guam has been chosen as the new venue for this year's weightlifting world championships after the neighbouring island of Nauru withdrew its offer to stage the event.

Setanta.com, the Irish sports content provider, has signed two contracts worth #1million ($1.45m) with mobile phone companies in Norway.

Lawyers for the Oakland Raiders have told a US court that the NFL wrongly took the team?s rights to the Los Angeles market and then refused to pay for it.

The English Rugby Football Union said it expected profits and cash reserves to double by 2007-2008, as it outlined an eight-year strategic plan to increase investment in the game.

The Nasdaq Stock Market has signed on as the North American presenting sponsor for the Sanex WTA Tour.

The 2001 Goodwill Games has forged a sponsorship alliance with energy supplier ENERGEX.

i-Cable, Hong Kong?s dominant cable operator, expect its subscribers to grow from 520,000 to 548,000 by the end of 2001 on the back of its acquisition of World Cup 2002 and the recently secured English FA Cup soccer.

Wembley National Stadium intends offloading a third of its anticipated #400 million ($600 million) debt by bringing forward part of the revenue streams, according to The Times newspaper, London. Sir Rodney Walker, project chairman in charge of the English soccer stadium?s reconstruction, says the group is negotiating with third parties to secure payments in exchange for rights to revenue sources, the paper reports. The move is intended to ease pressure on Wembley National Stadium when it returns to the City, London?s financial centre, for a second round of fundraising after its first attempt failed.

British Olympic chiefs are planning a bid for London to stage the 2012 Summer Games, the Daily Mail newspaper has reported.

Newcastle United's St. James' Park will host England's World Cup qualifier against Albania, the FA has said.