USA

Season-ticket sales for the National Football League are down 5 per cent in 2010 from last year and a decline in overall attendance is projected at one or two per cent. The season kicks-off today when the Minnesota Vikings play the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome.

The Arena Football League, the indoor American football competition founded in 1987, has hired long-time sports marketing and media veteran Stuart Layne as its new Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer.

Apparel giant adidas has signed a new sponsorship agreement with North America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) with four years still remaining on the current deal. The eight-year contract, understood to worth more than $200 million, begins with the 2011 season and follows a 10-year, $150-million deal that started in 2005.

US-based mixed martial arts company Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has appointed Mark Fischer as its new executive vice president and managing director for Asia.

National Basketball Association (NBA) team Orland Magic has agreed another corporate sponsorship deal for the new Amway Center. According to the local newspaper Orlando Sentinel, the NBA franchise has inked a five-year deal with insurance provider Geico worth more than $1 million per year.

Discover Financial Services has bought the four-year naming rights to the Orange Bowl, the annual college football game at Sun Life Stadium.

The National Football League inched closer to an 18-game schedule yesterday after Commissioner Roger Goodell said there is “overwhelming support” to add two games to the schedule.

Major Arsenal shareholder Stan Kroenke was yesterday approved by National Football League franchise owners as the new majority owner of the St. Louis Rams at a vote conducted in Atlanta.

The United States Tennis Association announced consumer electronics giant Panasonic has become an official sponsor of the US Open in a new three-year agreement. Under the deal, the USTA, Panasonic and CBS Sports will spearhead the first ever 3D broadcast of the tournament.

The National Basketball Association and Shanghai Film Group, the largest movie company in China, yesterday announced a partnership to produce the first NBA-themed motion picture outside of North America.

Anheuser-Busch beer brand Budweiser will be a sponsor of Orlando Magic’s new Amway Center after extending its sponsorship deal with the National Basketball Association team.

Long-time Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker and Super Bowl winner Derrick Brooks has been unveiled as an ambassador to Beyond Sport, the global initiative that promotes, develops and funds the use of sport to create positive social change across the world.

Major League Baseball icon Roger Clemens has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly lying to Congress about using steroids.

Beyond Sport has announced that Barclays Spaces for Sports is extending its partnership with the sport and development initiative into a second year. Under the deal, Barclays Spaces for Sports will once again play a pivotal role as a Global Partner to Beyond Sport, which includes the Beyond Sport Summit 2010 taking place in Chicago, September 29-30.

Anheuser-Busch's flagship beer brand Budweiser has unveiled a three-year sponsorship deal with North Carolina-based NASCAR team Richard Childress Racing. The deal also involves RCR's hot talent Kevin Harvick, who will carry Bud branding on his No. 29 Chevy.

Last night saw NFL team New York Giants take on local rivals New York Jets in the first football game to be played at their new $1.6 billion New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Only soccer exhibitions and concerts had previously been held in the stadium.