North America

NBA basketball franchises the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors will enter teams in next year’s League of Legends North American League Championship Series, it has been confirmed.

The City of Calgary has voted in favour of committing up to C$2m (€1.3m/$1.6m) in additional funding for a study over a potential bid from the Canadian city to host the 2026 winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Notre Dame Stadium, home of the University of Notre Dame’s American football team, will host the NHL’s 2019 Winter Classic, one of two outdoor game announcements made by the North American ice hockey league.

Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky has been awarded hosting rights to the 2024 edition of the PGA Championship.

Dell Loy Hansen, owner of Major League Soccer (MLS) team Real Salt Lake, has acquired the rights to launch a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise, which will debut in the city of Sandy, Utah for the 2018 season.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the new home of NFL American football franchise the Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team Atlanta United, has claimed a first by being awarded LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Alejandro Burzaco, former chief executive of Argentinian media group and sports-rights agency Torneos, has said that he and his company agreed to pay 30 football officials around $160m (€138.1m) in bribes as it was announced that Paraguay has agreed to extradite former South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) president Nicolas Leoz to the US.

The PGA of America golf organisation has awarded hosting rights for the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship and the 2027 PGA Championship to the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The City of Calgary has voted to continue with plans over mounting a bid for the 2026 winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, with further funding for the effort set to be assessed next week.

The players’ unions of the NFL American football league, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and football’s US national women’s team have joined forces to launch what they claim is a first-of-its-kind group player representation business.

The NBA basketball league has awarded hosting rights for the 2020 edition of its All-Star game to the city of Chicago.

American football league the NFL has said it expects a contract extension for commissioner Roger Goodell to be finalised soon despite the threat of a lawsuit from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, one of the most powerful figures in the game.

The PGA of America has confirmed that San Francisco’s Olympic Club will host the 2032 Ryder Cup and the 2028 PGA Championship.

The NFL American football league has expressed its opposition to a proposed government tax plan that could require sports teams to contribute more of their own money to stadium construction projects.

World football’s governing body Fifa has issued a guide to the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup, stating the revamped procedure is designed to ensure the process cannot be open to “even one iota of doubt”.

In the third and final part of our series, Barry Wilner summarises some of the ways in which teams in the US are using technology to enhance the game-day experience for fans.