Archive for September, 2008

30
Sep

Old Trafford Cricket Club in Manchester plans £200m redevelopment

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Categories: Announcements and cricket club

Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC) has unveiled plans for the £200m redevelopment of Old Trafford cricket club in Manchester as part of a larger 50-acre sports-led regeneration scheme.

The project, led by a joint partnership between the club, Trafford Council, Ask Developments, Tesco and Stretford High School, will include a 750,000 sq ft (69.6 sq m) development featuring a new 15,000-seat stadium with the capability of rising to 25,000 with temporary seating.

As part of the first phase, designed by BDP architects, a new outfield will be installed with a faster drainage system based the design of the Lord’s cricket ground, to allow for play to start earlier after heavy rain. The new designs also include the reorientation of the wicket to allow for a new larger square with five additional wickets, which will enable the club to bid for higher profile matches.

When complete, the facility will also include conference and banquet facilities, enhancements to the existing pavilion as well as new player and media facilities and a hotel.

A spokesperson from the cricket club said: “The proposals come at a time of fierce competition for the rights to stage International Test Matches, which has recently seen the ground, and the region, fail to secure any for the foreseeable future.

“The significant investment being made in the new facilities will ensure that Old Trafford regains its rightful place on the international test match circuit in time for the 2013 Ashes Test.”

Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes said: “The Old Trafford brand has a massive standing in world cricket. The club has been on the same site since 1857.

“Together with our local partners, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Sport England we will work towards delivering a scheme which will have at its heart a new world class stadium fit for the next 150 years fit for the UK’s greatest sporting city region.”

Plans for the mixed-use regeneration development, which will be anchored by the new cricket venue, is expected to include new leisure, retail, business and residential space.

A planning application for the first phase of the new stadium development will be lodged imminently with work expected to begin early 2009 to be completed early 2012. In order for the club to bid for the ashes, construction on the new square will need to begin in 2011.

30
Sep

Jonas Software announces new, feature-rich, email Marketing system

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Categories: Announcements and Software

ClubbroadCast, the new email marketing solution from Jonas Software will feature full email tracking functionality with detailed Reporting and Analytics, complete Campaign Management, email Automation and enhanced segmentation abilities thanks to its integration with a club’s Jonas/csg Management System.
In addition, ClubbroadCast will provide expected deliverability rates of 95% or better, due to newfound relationships with all of the major ISPs. Steve Cowan, Vice President of Online Services at Jonas, said “We are extremely excited to be able to offer all of our clients what we feel is one of the best email marketing solutions available today.

Given the environment that characterizes the club industry, ClubbroadCast will help our clients increase member retention and satisfaction, increase facility utilization, and generate new club business. We are well positioned to assist our clients in these matters given the integration between ClubbroadCast and their core Jonas/csg Management System. This integration will allow clubs to leverage the data they’ve collected and use it to more effectively communicate with members and prospective members, alike.
Jonas have tremendous faith in ClubbroadCast and look forward to providing  clients with a truly integrated and value added product that will offer immediate results to their business.”

ClubbroadCast is set to be released early this fall.

29
Sep

Ashworth Shareholders consider company sale due to losses

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Categories: Announcements and companies

After posting a third-quarter loss, Ashworth officials announced they are considering the possibility of a sale, merger or other transaction to enhance shareholder value.

The Carlsbad, Calif.-based golf apparel maker reported it has retained Kurt Salmon Associates Capital Advisors to examine its financial options. The investment banking firm helped negotiate the sale of Ashworth’s competitor Cutter & Buck last year.

For the third quarter, Ashworth posted a net loss of $9.6 million compared with a net loss of $5.6 million a year ago. Revenues fell 9 percent to $45.2 million. Company officials said margins have suffered from increased discount sales and lower sales volume, combined with fixed overhead expenses.

Only Ashworth’s core domestic golf business reported a revenue gain in the most recent quarter; the company’s other categories include corporate and department store sales.

Total domestic golf channel revenues increased to $18.2 million, up 5.5. percent from $17.2 million in the same period last year. This is the fourth consecutive quarter in which revenues in the golf channel have increased.

But challenges lie ahead: Sell-through in the golf channel during the third quarter has been below expectations, and the company expects revenues to decline for the remainder of the fiscal year as compared with year-ago periods.

29
Sep

Jabulani Spa at the Machaca Hill to open March 2009 in Belize

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Categories: Announcements and Spa

A new spa called Jabulani will open in March 2009 in the heart of the rainforest at the Machaca Hill retreat, in Punta Gorda, Belize www.machacahill.com .

With three treatment rooms, a relaxation room and a swimming pool, other facilities will include a gym, lounge and juice bar.

The spa’s Western-inspired treatments will use produce from the retreat’s organic garden.

The Machaca Hill jungle retreat has 12 treehouse accommodations and is owned by parent company Outpost International.

28
Sep

The Golden Bear Company hires Peter Rummell as CEO

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Categories: Announcements and Hires

The Nicklaus Cos. has hired Peter Rummell – a real estate development and brand-building expert with executive tenures at Disney and St. Joe Co. – as chief executive officer.

Rummell, 62, has already started his duties starting in mid-August as CEO of Nicklaus Cos., which was created last June when New York Private Bank & Trust became a long-term partner with the Nicklaus family.

“The addition of Peter fits perfectly with our strategy to build on the success we have enjoyed, and to realize our full potential so the business will continue to grow now and beyond my lifetime,” said Jack Nicklaus, founder and chairman.

In addition to serving as CEO of the Nicklaus Cos., Peter Rummell completes the executive structure of the NicklausMilstein Fund, where he will also serve as CEO. The NicklausMilstein Fund is designed to capture the real estate development and investment opportunities that arise from the Nicklaus golf course design business.

28
Sep

Berluscono Italian PM skips UN Meeting for a Health Spa

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Categories: Announcements and Spa

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has retreated to a health spa in central Italy, after he cancelled an appearance at the United Nations General Assembly.

The prime minister’s office was unavailable to comment on his whereabouts or state of health.
Italian media said the 71-year-old billionaire was being treated for minor back problems at the luxury health resort, Messegue di Melezzole Toscolano, in a converted castle near the town of Terni in Umbria, a hilly region north of Rome.

The spa also declined to confirm or deny Berlusconi’s presence and said the resort was currently closed to the public.

Berlusconi had been due to spend the week in the United States, culminating in a speech to the United Nations on Friday.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who went to New York in his place, said Berlusconi had decided to remain in Italy due to crisis talks aimed at saving national airline Alitalia from collapse.

But those talks, in Rome, have been handled by Berlusconi’s close aide Gianni Letta rather than the prime minister himself.

While hair implants and permanent tan keep Berlusconi, who turns 72 on Monday, looking younger than his years, he has had occasional bouts of ill health. In June he appeared unsteady on his feet after giving a speech to young entrepreneurs.

In December 2006 he flew to the United States for an operation to correct an irregular heartbeat. A month earlier he fainted while giving a speech.
One of Italy’s richest people, Berlusconi made a fortune in property and media and his family business Fininvest owns Mediaset, Italy’s main independent broadcaster.

27
Sep

NGCOA forecast tough times for club owners in US slow down

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Categories: Announcements and golf club

Though hindered by the nation’s economic slowdown, course ownership and management companies say they will continue to invest in their facilities, according to a new NGCOA survey.

Such feedback was among the results of the annual survey of executives attending the National Golf Course Owners Association’s Multi-Course Owners Leadership Retreat held earlier this month.

Among the survey’s findings:

• Most of the owners and operators surveyed (67%) think their business will remain flat or decline as much as five percent in the second half of 2008. Twenty-three percent think they will see gains of less than five percent.

• Fifty percent of the survey participants said the number and size of outings sponsored by business and charitable groups was the area of their business being most affected.

• The majority (55%) of course executives surveyed said they plan to deal with the situation by pulling back on expenses and holding on until conditions improve.

• A number of respondents, however, said they will remain aggressive during the slowdown. Twenty-three percent said they plan to invest in more marketing to grow their business, and 22 percent said they will make course or facility improvements to become more competitive.

• Owners and operators of multi-course companies also are increasing their efforts to attract new players from non-traditional segments. Forty-eight percent said they had introduced player development programs in the last year aimed at women, Hispanics or juniors; 32 percent said they had hosted events aimed at one of these groups.

• The slowdown may present opportunities for acquisitions among this group of dealmakers. Forty-nine percent said they expect to add courses to their portfolios over the next 12 months. Fourteen percent predict they will dispose of properties during the same period.

• Among attendees whose companies are not in the homebuilding business, 55 percent said they have courses in the planning stage or plan to build a course in the next two years.

• With the U.S. golf market still overbuilt in many areas, the owners and operators are bullish on international opportunities. Eighty-nine percent said they believed new business opportunities would increase in international markets in the next two years.

The invitation-only NGCOA Multi-Course Owners Leadership Retreat included executives from companies that own and manage seven or more courses. Attendees represented multi-course companies that have interests in nearly 2,000 courses worldwide.

26
Sep

Koreans Gambling Addicts Want to be Banned From Casinos

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Categories: Announcements and Casinos

Nearly half of the people banned from South Korea’s major casino are self-acknowledged gambling addicts who asked that they not be admitted to help them kick the habit, a report said Tuesday. Among the 2,385 gamblers who were prohibited from entering the Kangwon Land casino between January and the end of July this year, 1,059 or 44 per cent, sought such a self-imposed ban, according to the casino’s report to a ruling party lawmaker. Another 23 per cent were asked by their families to be prohibited from gambling.

Kangwon Land, located in a remote former coal mining area in Gangwon Province, is often dubbed South Korea’s Las Vegas and is the only place where locals are permitted to gamble. Foreigners, meanwhile, are permitted at several exclusive casinos in South Korea, three of which are located in the capital Seoul. Situated next to luxury hotels, a golf course and ski resort, Kangwon Land recorded one trillion won (US$87 million) in profits last year alone with some three million visitors.

It has been a subject of much criticism, and is cited as the cause of rising gambling addictions since it first opened in 2000, with more than 25 people committing suicide near the area after losing large sums of money. More than 6 per cent of Korean adults are believed to be gambling addicts, according to recent government data, with crimes by gamblers such as homicide, robbery and burglary also on the rise.

25
Sep

The Waldorf Astoria announces Opening of its Guerlain Spa

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Categories: Announcements and Spa

The Waldorf Astoria Collection, Guerlain and Spa Chakra, Inc. announced today the opening of the much-anticipated Guerlain Spa at the renowned Waldorf Astoria in New York City. This spa marks the first in a strategic alliance between the three parties, with future Guerlain Spas planned for new build Waldorf Astoria hotels and resorts in gateway cities worldwide.

The signature item on the menu, The Waldorf ImpA(C)riale, has been designed to embrace and reflect the identity of The Waldorf Astoria Collection. Guerlain, in collaboration with The Collection, developed the two-hour ritual to be available only for visitors and guests of The Waldorf Astoria Collection. The treatment, priced at $510, creates a cocooning experience, focused on sensory renewal with a body massage and facial using Guerlain’s age-defying OrchidA(C)e ImpA(C)riale skincare.

Occupying a majority of the 19th floor of the famed Waldorf Towers, the 14,000 square-foot Guerlain Spa will feature 16 treatment rooms, consisting of 13 dry rooms with their own bathroom and three fully appointed wet therapy suites for Hydrotherapy and Vichy shower, a state-of-the-art footbath lounge, interconnecting and double rooms for couples and groups, freshly prepared beverages and stunning views of Midtown Manhattan.

“We are pleased to align ourselves with The Waldorf=Astoria Collection, a similar iconic brand rich in history. We’re committed to providing exquisite quality products, inventive treatments, and outstanding service,” said Laurent Boillot, President and CEO of Guerlain.

24
Sep

Cordish Co looking to acquire Tropicana Casino

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Categories: Announcements and Casinos

New Jersey casino regulators said on Tuesday that negotiations were under way to sell Atlantic City’s Tropicana Casino and Resort to real estate developer Cordish Co for cash and securities totaling $700 million.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission said in a statement that the trustees overseeing the property — retired state Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein and investment bank Moelis & Co — had identified Cordish as a leading bidder for a number of reasons, including the company’s track record and the offered price.
Stein was appointed by the state to oversee the casino after regulators refused to renew the license of its former owner, Columbia Sussex Corp.

The decision was based on complaints ranging from massive layoffs to problems with service and cleanliness, leading the state to seek a sale.
Under the proposed transaction, Cordish would acquire substantially all of the assets of Adamar, which consist primarily of the Tropicana Casino & Resort.

Stein expects to ask the commission for approval to designate Cordish as the lead bidder. The transaction is also subject to completion of a definitive asset purchase agreement, approval of the commission, and various other conditions.

Cordish last year came close to acquiring Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc (TRMP.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which owns three casinos in Atlantic City, but those talks reportedly fell apart in November

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