UK Eyes Bill to Guide Games Bidding Process

The UK government is looking to approve a Major Sporting Events Bill to help during the bidding process for major international sporting events.

Such events are becoming increasingly professional and, hence, place increasingly onerous and complex demands on the nations hosting them.

Winning a bid frequently requires the passage of new legislation as a matter of urgency.

The drafting of a new, generic sports events Act - covering issues such as visas, ticket touting, image/trademark protection and advertising - could, it is felt, act as a template for any event, leaving specific details to be addressed via a statutory instrument.

Exclusive: Government plans to introduce Major Sporting Events Act
Insidethegames
November 15, 2010

San Francisco Eyes Waterfront Redevelopment for America's Cup Bid

The City of San Francisco has unveiled a broad waterfront redevelopment plan in accordance with its bid to host the America's Cup.

[I]f city officials are successful in their plan to host the next America's Cup, the drab Piers 30-32 would be transformed into a striking bayfront amphitheater and sailing showplace - a focal point of a revived waterfront stretching from the Bay Bridge to south of AT&T Park - all without tapping taxpayer funds.

Under a proposal that Mayor Gavin Newsom's administration recently presented to race organizers, the city would provide free land and future development rights on the property in exchange for the America's Cup event authority paying $100 million to $150 million to shore up the piers, dredge the area around them, and install new breakwaters and utility lines.

San Francisco's plan for hosting America's Cup
San Francisco Chronicle
September 4, 2010

Questioning the Wisdom of Hosting International Sporting Events

This article from the International Monetary Fund looks at the investments required to host big international sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup and challenges the wisdom of making those investments.

Though the article explores some of the benefits Olympics can create for cities, it also warns that the costs of hosting these events are increasingly large.

Unfortunately, the Los Angeles experience was exceptional. Subsequent host cities found it impossible to procure the same proportion of private support. Several billion dollars in public monies was committed in Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Athens (2004), and Beijing (2008).

The Barcelona Olympics left the central Spanish government $4 billion in debt, and the city and provincial governments an additional $2.1 billion in the red. The Nagano Organizing Committee showed a $28 million surplus, while the various units of Japanese government were left with an $11 billion debt (Burton and O’Reilly, 2009). In Athens, public investment exceeded $10 billion, and in Beijing, more than $40 billion.

Is It Worth It?
Finance and Development
March 2010

South Africa Chosen as Safe Alternative for Indian Cricket Tournament

Amid concerns over crime and attacks related to the country's upcoming elections, the 2009 Indian Premier League will move out of India and take place in South Africa. The tournament is set to begin in April, and South Africa was chosen as the neutral-ground host over England, bolstering the country's credibility as an able host for major international events.

"This is a great compliment to both CSA and our nation to be shown this confidence in our ability to hold one of the world's top sporting events at short notice," said Cricket South Africa's CEO, Gerald Majola.

The tournament will feature 59 matches from 18 April 2009, and fixtures will be announced in due course.

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India announced Sunday that it was shifting the Indian Premier League (IPL) out of the country because the tournament would coincide with general elections.

There were also concerns about a recent attack on a Sri Lankan cricket team in neighboring Pakistan, as well as a lingering sentiment about the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Source:
South Africa will host IPL Twenty20 cricket
CNN
Match 24, 2009