Panthers could owe $30.8 million to Florida for not turning arena into homeless shelter

By Greg Wyshynski | 

Every state has laws on the books that are neglected or ignored until some opportunist decides to enforce them. Remember how that guy from Texas tried to end the "sick, ugly tradition" of octopus tossing in Detroit through the 1982 Michigan Bodies of Dead Animals Act?

Yeah, that was weird.

Here's another arcane law: In 1988, the Florida legislature passed a measure that required the state's professional sports teams to use their facilities to run homeless shelters or run the risk of losing $166,667 in monthly taxpayer-supported funds. From the West Orlando News, the statute reads:

"Any professional sports facility constructed with financial assistance from the State of Florida shall be designated as a shelter site for the homeless in accordance with the criteria of locally existing homeless shelter programs, except when the facility is otherwise contractually obligated for a specific event or activity."

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, introduced Senate Bill 816 recently that seeks to enforce that 1988 law (along with requiring Florida-based NFL teams to purchase tickets for veterans, the homeless and disadvantaged children when their games are blacked out).

According to Matthew Hendley of the Broward Palm Beach New Times, there's an audit included in that bill which could really, really impact the NHL's Florida Panthers -- to the tune of $30 million.

From Hendley:

According to the bill analysis, the teams would have to return the money they received unless they can prove they've been running these homeless programs.

For the Panthers -- who play at Sunrise's BankAtlantic Center -- that's a tab of $30,833,395.

… It's not clear whether any of the teams have any of these programs set up in their facilities, but Bennett doesn't think so. Our inquiry to the Panthers' facility operations manager wasn't immediately returned.

The BankAtlantic Center opened in 1998 and was nearly entirely funded with public money.

From the Miami New Times:

"We have spent over $300 million supporting teams that can afford to pay a guy $7, 8, 10 million a year to throw a baseball 90 feet. I think they can pay for their own stadium," Bennett tells The Miami Herald. "I can not believe that we're going to cut money out of Medicaid and take it away from the homeless and take it away from the poor and impoverished, and we're continuing to support people who are billionaires."

While this audit — and this bill — may never force a professional sports team to do or pay anything, it does bring up the debate about public funding of sports facilities. Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, for example, used to wonder why taxpayers who already paid for a facility had to pay again for entrance.

And while that's an extreme libertarian example of the rhetoric, it does capture the spirit of the thing. At least for these lawmakers.

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TN gun laws, or lack thereof, under attack

TN is one of 34 states that don't require background checks for private gun sales

Something didn't seem quite right to Tyler Adams as he talked with the man who wanted to buy a gun from him.

The customer admitted he did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Tennessee.

When Adams probed a bit more and asked if he could pass a background check, the guy was upfront and said no.

Adams did not sell the gun.

That's the way the law is supposed to work for private sellers who, unlike gun dealers, aren't required to conduct background checks.

But critics are skeptical that all private gun sellers would be that responsible, and say, in fact, the government leaves the door wide open for private sellers to sell a gun to anyone who is willing to pay for it and simply look the other way even if they are suspicious about the buyer.

Tennessee is among 34 states that don't require any background checks for private sales of firearms, even if the sale is handled by an online site.

But now, the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns is calling for the federal government to mandate background checks in all gun sales. It's sparked an emotional debate that even divides gun-rights advocates. Opponents decry the idea as an affront to individual freedoms and say citizens should be able to sell private property without government interference.

But supporters argue that guns sales should require more accountability on the part of the seller and the buyer to reduce the chances that a gun will fall into the wrong hands.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who helped organize the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, recently released a report criticizing Tennessee, among other states, for having buyers willing to sell guns to people they knew could not pass a background check.

Sting shows some sell to fishy buyers

The Bloomberg report set out to show just how easy it is for people who aren't supposed to own guns — felons and people convicted of domestic violence, for example — to buy guns through private deals online, said Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

During an undercover investigation, private investigators went online and reached out to sellers like Adams.

How criminals get guns

Little research has been done into how criminals obtain their guns. A 1998 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics surveyed inmates convicted of illegal gun possession and found that more than 35 percent of the guns were given to them by friends or family; about 33 percent of the guns were obtained illegally through break-ins, robberies or drug deals; about 23 percent were obtained from a store, pawnshop, flea market or gun show; and the rest were either borrowed or obtained by some other means.

A patchwork of laws

Gun laws in general are a confusing patchwork of federal, state and even local rules. 

Oregon, Colorado, Illinois and New York require background checks at gun shows, but not other private sales. Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska and North Carolina require state-issued permits to buy handguns. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Hawaii require state-issued permits to purchase any guns. 

Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland require background checks on all handgun sales and California, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., require background checks on all gun sales. 

Laws can even differ from city to city. New York City, for example, doesn't recognize weapons permits issued outside the city, though city permits are recognized elsewhere in the state. 

A Louisville, Tenn., woman, who has a valid Tennessee firearms carry permit, was recently arrested in New York City when she tried to check her gun with a police officer so she could visit the memorial at the World Trade Center site.

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Stadiums as homeless shelters and free tickets for foster kids at blacked-out games

by Dara Kam 

Florida professional sports teams have ignored a 25-year-old law long enough, according to Sen. Mike Bennett, who wants to use the law to force the teams to refund some of the money taxpayers have spent subsidizing their stadiums.

Bennett's using a little-known state law that now requires that any professional sports facility built with state money to beused as a homeless shelter except when the facility is being used for a specific event or activity to go after what he calls corporate welfare.

Bennettalso wants to fine the sports teams for blacking out local television coverage of the games and use the money from the fines to buy tickets to the games and give the tickets to foster kids or active-duty soldiers.

The sports franchises now get $166,000 per month in tax breaks for 30 years, Bennett said. The teams would be fined $125,000 for blacking out the games – something the state can't stop, Bennett said.

"The theory is if we're going to give them $166,000 per month for 30 years we cannot control what the NFL does. But we can fine them the $125,000. They'll still get a little tax break of around $41,000. But we think there's a lot of deserving children out here who would like to go to…see those games," he said.

Under Bennett's proposal (SB 816), approved unanimously by the Senate Community Affairs Committee this morning, the teams would have to repay up to nearly $300 million Florida the teams – along with counties and others – have received to build arenas if they don't start complying with the law.

"All of the sports teams always preach up and down about playing fair. I think it's fair that they follow the rules in their games and I think it's fair that they follow the rules of the state of Florida," Bennett, R-Bradenton, said. "We have spent over $300 million supporting teams that can afford to pay a guy $7, $8, $10 million a year to throw a baseball 90 feet. I think they can pay for their own stadium."

Bennett, a long-time critic of using state funds to give tax breaks or other financial assistance to professional sports teams, said he has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi's office to look into whether the state would actually be able to recoup the money from the teams as his bill proposes. If not, he said he's prepared to pursue a class-action lawsuit against the teams.

"I cannot believe that we're going to cut money out of Medicaid and take it away from homeless and take it away from the poor and the impoverished and we're continuing to support people who are billionaires with the stadiums," Bennett said.

So far, Florida taxpayers have contributed more than $261 million to 17 facilities throughout the state, including $37 million for Dolphin Stadium. St. Lucie County received nearly $1.3 million since 2007 to help cover the costs of a spring training ball park for the New York Jets.

The bill has three more committee stops in the Senate and has not yet been heard in the House.

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'Tebow Law' for homeschool sports finds support

By Bob Lewis

RICHMOND

All Will Brockman wants is to play soccer for a few more years.

"I don't have a David Beckham or a Tim Tebow on my hands, but he's not bad," Sharon Brockman boasts of the 13-year-old son she homeschools in Montgomery County near Christiansburg.

Will plays on a private club team now, but that will end once his contemporaries matriculate into high schools and compete on their varsity teams over the next year or two. And under current Virginia law, Will will watch from the bleachers unless he enrolls in the public schools — something Sharon Brockman says won't happen.

"If push comes to shove, he won't play high school soccer either. It's more important to us that his education be what it is than he gets to play public high school sports," Sharon Brockman said in a telephone interview.

For years, a bill that would open public school sports teams to home-schooled athletes living in their attendance districts has come before the General Assembly and just as often, it floundered, usually before the Senate Education and Health Committee.

But with the Senate under new conservative management with this month's disputed Republican takeover, three bills by Republican House members revive the issue. Sponsors call it the "Tebow Law," named for Tim Tebow, an evangelical former homeschooler who won a Heisman Trophy and led the Gators to a 2008 national title at the University of Florida, then quarterbacked the Denver Broncos into this season's NFL playoffs.

"These people pay taxes that support their public schools. You can't just shut them out from the facilities and activities they're paying for just like everybody else," said Del. Rob Bell, a 44-year-old Albemarle Republican who sponsors one of the bills and is burnishing his conservative credentials for a 2013 race for attorney general.

Florida is among at least 15 states across the country that put no restrictions on home-schooled students who want to play interscholastic sports at public schools in their communities, according a state-by-state summary from the Home School Legal Defense Association. At least 13 states allow home-schooled children conditional or partial opportunities for extracurricular involvement at public schools.

The National Conference of State Legislators says it does not track the issue.

Opponents of the bill say that allowing kids who want no part of campus academic and social life to crash high school varsity teams would be unfair to full-time students, create enormous competitive inequities and gut eligibility and participation requirements of the Virginia High School League, the statewide sanctioning body for public interscholastic athletics and other activities.

"There are 13 individual eligibility requirements for participation for our programs, and under Delegate Bell's bill, the homeschoolers would meet only six and part of a seventh," said Ken Tilley, the VHSL's executive director.

Paying state and local taxes that underwrite public education doesn't, by itself, create an entitlement to a spot on a public high school varsity team, Tilley said.

"There are thousands of public school students whose parents pay taxes and who don't meet all of the 13 eligibility requirements and they can't participate," Tilley said. "Why should homeschoolers get that advantage? It completely destroys all fairness."

He's not alone in opposing the Tebow bill. The politically potent Virginia Association of School Superintendents and Virginia Education Association, which represents more than 60,000 public school teachers, have joined the fight.

They contend there is little or no periodic monitoring of academic progress for children taught by parents at kitchen tables, unlike in public classrooms. Nor, they say, is there any way to verify that a student is doing classroom work through the day, instead of working out with a personal trainer.

It would foment resentment among students and athletes, their parents and particularly school faculty, said Keith Rowland, the superintendent of Shenandoah County's public schools.

"The teachers are going to have that message ringing in their ears: 'I'm not good enough to provide you an education during the day, but I'm good enough to provide you come and play.' That's not a real good message," Rowland said.

Perhaps the bill's most formidable adversary is Del. Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach. The chairman of the House Education Committee is nicknamed "Coach" for the football teams he led to championships in his days as a high school educator. He also was a University of Virginia football and baseball star in the early 1950s who played briefly for the NFL's Detroit Lions.

Tata fears that opening high school sports to homeschoolers would weaken the system's accountability and allow aggressive coaches at powerhouse sports schools to "recruit" home-schooled blue-chip players.

"I guess what you'd have is sort of like a bunch of adolescent free agents," Tata said with a laugh. "But how would you control it? I mean, you could have some 6 (foot) 4 (inch) gorilla at home who can't read or write but can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash."

"It'll start all these schools recruiting, and don't think it won't happen," he said.

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Parents, coaches meet growing problem of concussions head-on

• Article by: JEREMY OLSON , Star Tribune 

John Kuhry envisioned the worst as he rushed to the Eden Prairie football field where his son Connor had just suffered a concussion.

"Get him to the emergency room," the father of four was thinking.

Kuhry drove straight onto the grassy practice field and began peppering his sixth-grader with questions. What was his name? Could he count to five forwards and backwards?

His son was amused. "Dad, why are you asking me that?"

Kuhry's response reflects a profound change emerging in youth sports across Minnesota, driven by rising parent concern over player safety and a seminal new state law governing the treatment of concussions in young athletes.

Doctors say they're seeing an uptick in clinic and ER visits by young athletes with headaches and head injuries. Thousands of volunteer coaches are getting online training in concussion symptoms. And on-field medics and coaches say they're taking less flak from parents when they pull injured athletes out of games.

"The parents look at it differently," said Jeannie Palmer of Northstar EMS, which provides medics for youth hockey and football games in Eden Prairie and Edina. "They're asking us more questions now. The coaches are much more likely to say, 'Yup, sit it out.'"

Last fall Minnesota joined two dozen other states that have laws regulating youth sports concussions. Minnesota's version requires training for all coaches and prohibits concussed athletes from returning to play without medical clearance.

The new rules have raised numerous concerns, including a fear that any young athlete with a mild head bump would be forced to see a doctor. So far, local doctors said that hasn't been the case.

In fact, Fairview's concussion clinic is seeing more real cases, said Dr. Sarah Lenart. "Some that were being missed before aren't being missed."

Another sign that concussions are being taken seriously: More than 100 schools and athletic associations in Minnesota now provide preseason cognitive assessments, known as ImPACT tests, so those results can be compared with follow-up tests if an athlete suffers a concussion during the season. The Eagan Athletic Association has held free testing events for athletes as young as 11 -- going a step beyond what the state requires.

"I wasn't comfortable just stopping with complying with the law," said Sharon Stumpf, a member of the Eagan board.

Some confusion

The transition hasn't necessarily been smooth. The law doesn't specify the type of medical provider that must provide written authorization for athletes to return to play. It could be a doctor, nurse, medic, athletic trainer or chiropractor. "If it's in their scope of practice, we're OK with it," said David King of the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota.

The lack of specificity was a concession to critics who could have blocked the law's approval, he said. Some skeptics worried about the cost for families if the law required them to take children to doctors any time concussions were suspected. The end result is that sports clubs are deciding on their own what types of providers can OK players for sports again.

"It's just very confusing," said Rachel Winthrop, community liaison for the concussion clinic at HealthEast's Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul. "Everybody is doing something different."

The Eden Prairie Youth Football Association decided that only a doctor can make the call. Out of concern for concussions, the association also switched in fall 2010 to having emergency medical technicians (EMTs) on site for games instead of athletic trainers. Association president Jay Hansen said coaches can't overrule EMTs when they decide athletes need to come out of games.

Palmer estimated that Northstar EMS has seen a 20 percent increase in the past two years in the number of concussion assessments during football or hockey games. The increased speed and physical nature of sports has likely contributed to the increase, but Palmer said she suspects that her EMTs are now being called in to assess injuries that coaches or parents used to handle themselves.

The course of concussions can vary radically from one incident to another. Connor Kuhry was injured during a blocking drill, when a hit from behind caused him to carom into the player in front of him. He rested for a week in September -- missing his team's first game -- before returning to play.

Tim Wynne's oldest son needed only a week of rest after a hockey puck hit him in the head, even though he had no memory of the game when it was finished.

Recovery wasn't so easy for Wynne's 15-year-old daughter, Shannon, who played varsity soccer for Holy Angels. Standing firmly in "the wall" to guard against a free kick this fall, she had a ball rocket off her cheek. She popped up and finished the game, but days later had crushing headaches. She had to rest for a month, missing school and doing little more than watching TV to keep her headahes at bay.

"The soccer season came and went, you know, by the time she was feeling better," Wynne said. "It was actually pretty scary."

Hundreds of concussions

Roughly 1,000 athletes between ages 5 and 19 are hospitalized for sports-related concussions every year in this state, the Minnesota Department of Health estimates.

The risk level has long been studied at the high school level, which is why the Minnesota State High School League already has policies preventing concussed athletes from returning to play without medical clearance.

Research is now unveiling the risk at younger ages. A study last year examined ER visits for concussions among youths 8 to 18 and found that 40 percent involved children 13 and younger. The majority occurred during organized team sports, with football and hockey showing the highest rates.

To comply with the training requirement in Minnesota's law, most associations steer their coaches to a 30-minute online course by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While coaches grumble about the burden, associations report more than 90 percent compliance.

Of all people, John Kuhry was one of the scofflaws at first. Coaching another son's basketball team, he was notified before the holidays that he had to complete training. He forgot, then got an e-mail in January saying he couldn't coach another game until he was certified. The next game was a day away.

"This is mandatory," the e-mail read in bold letters.

On the bright side, Kuhry aced the test. His personal experience with his son's concussion made sure of that.

Most coaches and parents are embracing the new stance, said Chris Mazurek, the Eden Prairie football coach who helped Kuhry's son when he suffered a concussion. Even with EMTs on the field for games, coaches are still the first people who might notice subtle changes in players coming off the field.

"We know the players," he said, "So if someone is identified with signs of a potential concussion, we want to address that right away."

For more information on these matters, please call our office at 305 548 5020. 

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Bob Finnan's NBA notes: New CBA could help Cavs keep Irving, Thompson for a long time

By Bob Finnan 

Kyrie Irving's NBA career is in its infancy, but people are already worrying about him leaving in free agency.

Such is the life of being a Cleveland sports fan.

The Cavs have Irving under contract for two years, plus two additional option years, plus a fifth-year qualifying offer.

That takes us into 2016.

NBA owners tried desperately to add a franchise tag in negotiations with the players' association. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said it was in the proposed agreement for a while, but it ended up on the cutting-room floor.

"It's hard to know what exact piece was close or not close because there were so many moving parts," Gilbert said. "That certainly was discussed. I think it probably would've been a good thing overall for the NBA.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't part of the agreement. But I think we did get some things that will make it better for the small-market and mid-market teams."

Gilbert, part of the faction labeled "hockey" owners in negotiations, said teams will have a greater chance to hang on to their free agents in the new deal.

"That difference in what you can pay your own max player is significantly more than it was in the previous one," Gilbert said. "Hopefully, that will help and be a difference."

LeBron James left the Cavaliers two years ago in free agency. Gilbert said he thinks the team will have a better chance to keep Irving and forward Tristan Thompson when they reach free agency. 

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Sports Agent Selection

By Duane Morris 

Sports Agent Selection

It is that time of year again where NFL prospects are selecting agents and agents are intensively recruiting player clients. This recruitment and the unfortunate opportunity for wrong doing  will go on through the various All Star games and the end of NCAA eligibility for the players. There is much for both sides to be cautious about. For athletes, it is obviously making sure that they select the right agent for their circumstances. The elements that go into "who is the right agent" are complex. I wrote about many of these issues with my co-author Timothy Davis in   The Business of Sports Agents .  The key for athletes, family , and advisors is to take charge of the selection process. Recent reports about Robert Griffin III are illustrative of how difficult this can be. Here is an example of awarning issued to prospective agents by RGIII's dad. For agents the key in this season is to make sure you are in touch with the right decision makers.  The overall focus should be to abide by the regulations of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).

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World rally championship in disarray after FIA cancels promoter's contract

Article in The National

LONDON // Rallying's governing body was in urgent talks to secure the future of theworld championship on Sunday after cancelling the contract with promoters North One Sport just 10 days before the Monte Carlo season-opener.

The International Automobile Federation said in a statement that North One Sport (NOS) had "conspicuously failed" to deliver its contractual obligations for 2012 and beyond and was in breach of contract.

North One were bought last year by Convers Sports Initiatives, owned by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov and now in administration.

Antonov has been arrested and bailed in Britain along with his Lithuanian business partner Raimondas Baranauskas on suspicion of fraud and large-scale embezzlement.

The FIA said it had been notified of at least seven expressions of interest to buy North One but none had come to anything.

"Not only has NOS failed to perform in accordance with its contract, it has also been unable to secure the essential investment required to enable it to deliver the Championship," said the FIA.

"This has placed the FIA in an unprecedented situation just 10 days before Rally Monte Carlo in that the FIA will now have to take urgent action to secure the staging of the Championship," it added.

"The Federation is now working tirelessly to ensure the WRC goes ahead as fully as planned to mitigate the consequences of the breach."

The FIA reassured all stakeholders of its commitment to the championship.

"The FIA has now launched urgent top level discussions with several partners and suppliers to guarantee the key organisational and promotional components of the Championships, including timing and tracking, TV production and distribution, as well as sponsorship servicing are put in place," it said.

"The FIA is fully confident that it will deliver a safe, successful and exciting 2012 season," it added.

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Reynoldsburg retiring Matheny's number

By Ken Kitchen

Reynoldsburg retiring Matheny's number

Reynoldsburg High School will retire the No. 5 jersey of 1988 graduate and current St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny as part of a Raiders Diamond Club fundraiser Sunday, Jan. 15, in the cafeteria of the school's Livingston Campus.

Sports agent and 1986 Reynoldsburg graduate Joe Speed will be the keynote speaker. Matheny will not attend the event, but a video message from him will be played.

Doors open at 4 p.m., and Speed will speak at 5:30.

Matheny, hired in November to replace Tony La Russa as Cardinals manager, played 13 years in the major leagues as a catcher and won four Gold Gloves. He was with the Cardinals from 2000-04 and also played for Milwaukee, Toronto and San Francisco, retiring in 2006 as a member of the Giants.

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h this medium, please so advise the sender immediately.

Sporting legacy secured for six out of eight Olympic venues

Sporting legacy secured for six out of eight Olympic venues

By Conference News

The Olympic Park Legacy Company has secured the future of six out of the eight permanent Olympic venues after appointing operators for the Aquatic Centre, Multi-Use Arena and ArcelorMittal Orbit. 
 
The company says "employment, training and sporting opportunities for Londoners are at the heart of the contracts, along with ensuring the venues are both affordable and accessible, and fit into the wider offer of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park".
 
Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) has signed on to operate the Aquatics Centre and the Multi-Use Arena, and Balfour Beatty WorkPlace will run the ArcelorMittal Orbit and manage the maintenance of the Park.
 
The contracts include 254 full-time jobs with 75 per cent going to local people in the host boroughs; 86 apprenticeship places every year; "strong focus" on SMEs benefitting from supply chain opportunities; and the price of swimming at the Aquatics Centre or hiring a court at the Arena will be the same as local pool or sport centres.
 
"The combination of Balfour Beatty WorkPlace's commitment to jobs and apprenticeships and GLL's innovative proposals for sports programming will create a host of economic and sporting opportunities," said Baroness Margaret Ford of the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
 
GLL will operate the Aquatics Centre and Multi-use Arena for 10 years starting in 2013. The social enterprise currently oversees the management of over 100 public leisure centres across the south of England and in York, employing 5,000 people, all locally recruited.
 
Balfour Beatty Workplace also has a 10-year contract.
 
Ford says the contract ensures the Aquatics Centre will not require any additional public subsidy and that further revenue will be generated from naming rights for both venues.
 
The company hopes to have secured new operators for all the venues before the Games have started later in the year. Achieving it would be a first for any Olympic city.
 
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: "As Ministers visit Olympic venues, businesses, schools and organisations associated with 2012 right across the UK, I want the message to go out loud and clear, from tourism to business, sport to investment, we are determined to maximise the benefits of 2012 for the whole country.
 
"As we mark 200 days to go, and six out of the eight Olympic venues having already secured their future, we are well on track to delivering a lasting legacy for the whole of Britain."
 
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will reopen in phases from 2013 following major transformation work to change the Park from its Olympic configuration to a new piece of London.
 
The Multi-Use Arena is set to reopen in 2013, with the Aquatics Centre and the ArcelorMittal Orbit reopening in 2014. 

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Sporting legacy secured for six out of eight Olympic venues

The Olympic Park Legacy Company has secured the future of six out of the eight permanent Olympic venues after appointing operators for the Aquatic Centre, Multi-Use Arena and ArcelorMittal Orbit. 
 
The company says "employment, training and sporting opportunities for Londoners are at the heart of the contracts, along with ensuring the venues are both affordable and accessible, and fit into the wider offer of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park".
 
Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) has signed on to operate the Aquatics Centre and the Multi-Use Arena, and Balfour Beatty WorkPlace will run the ArcelorMittal Orbit and manage the maintenance of the Park.
 
The contracts include 254 full-time jobs with 75 per cent going to local people in the host boroughs; 86 apprenticeship places every year; "strong focus" on SMEs benefitting from supply chain opportunities; and the price of swimming at the Aquatics Centre or hiring a court at the Arena will be the same as local pool or sport centres.
 
"The combination of Balfour Beatty WorkPlace's commitment to jobs and apprenticeships and GLL's innovative proposals for sports programming will create a host of economic and sporting opportunities," said Baroness Margaret Ford of the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
 
GLL will operate the Aquatics Centre and Multi-use Arena for 10 years starting in 2013. The social enterprise currently oversees the management of over 100 public leisure centres across the south of England and in York, employing 5,000 people, all locally recruited.
 
Balfour Beatty Workplace also has a 10-year contract.
 
Ford says the contract ensures the Aquatics Centre will not require any additional public subsidy and that further revenue will be generated from naming rights for both venues.
 
The company hopes to have secured new operators for all the venues before the Games have started later in the year. Achieving it would be a first for any Olympic city.
 
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: "As Ministers visit Olympic venues, businesses, schools and organisations associated with 2012 right across the UK, I want the message to go out loud and clear, from tourism to business, sport to investment, we are determined to maximise the benefits of 2012 for the whole country.
 
"As we mark 200 days to go, and six out of the eight Olympic venues having already secured their future, we are well on track to delivering a lasting legacy for the whole of Britain."
 
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will reopen in phases from 2013 following major transformation work to change the Park from its Olympic configuration to a new piece of London.
 
The Multi-Use Arena is set to reopen in 2013, with the Aquatics Centre and the ArcelorMittal Orbit reopening in 2014. 

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2011 Year End Review: Biggest Sports Law Stories of 2011

By Exavier Pope 

2011 was quite a year on and off the field. In the pros, the Green Bay Packers became the new "America's Team" after the ascension of Aaron Rodgers and winning its fourth Super Bowl. The Boston Bruins became the first Stanley Cup champion to win three game 7s in the playoffs on the road to end an almost 40 year cup drought. The Dallas Mavericks proved by winning the NBA title team play trumps a collection of Miami Heat superstars. The St. Louis Cardinals roared back from 9 games down in September to snatch the wild card from the Atlanta Braves and eventually emerged as baseball's champion. And David Beckham finished up his tour across the pond with an L.A. Galaxy MLS Championship

In the collegiate ranks, Cam Newton dominated his only year in major college athletics by winning the BCS National Championship. Kemba Walker made a run for ages through March Madness leading his Connecticut Huskies to a Big East and National Championship. Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins became America's darling for her intense play on the hardwood and her looks, but fell short to in the Women's National Championship game against Texas A&M.

Other major news stories of the year included the Indianapolis Colts flirting with a winless season as Peyton Manning sat out with a career threatening injury,  Derek Jeter's 3000th hit, Tebowing, Serena Williams with a life threatening scare, the passing of Al Davis, Robert Griffin III stealing the Heisman inevitability from Andrew Luck, the potential end of Sidney Crosby's career, Dan Wheldon's death, and Tiger Woods finally winning a tournament.

Off the field, every sport dealt with major legal issues.  From entire leagues, organizations, coaches, and players, 2011 saw it all. Here are major sports legal month to month highlights.

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