Delhi Bills Unpaid; Beer for London; Stadium Update

Delhi 2010 Refuses Payment to Nine "Non-Performing" Venders

It’s been two weeks since India’s sports minister issued a 10-day ultimatum for organizers to wrap up all Commonwealth Games payments, yet outstanding bills linger.

According to a communiqué issued Wednesday by newly appointed organizing committee head Jarnail Singh, that’s "because of non-performance of the contracts" on the part of nine venders, among them Netherlands-based statistics service Infostrada Sports.

In a statement titled "The Facts about Delhi Commonwealth Games" sent Thursday to Around the Rings, Infostrada CEO Philip Hennemann says his company is still owed 30% of its contract, amounting to $618,000.

"We have never had any explanation about what we are alleged to have failed to deliver," Hennemann said.

"We were officially and publicly thanked by the Organizing Committee for doing extra work, at no charge, to rescue them during the period of technical issues in the days leading into, and first days of the Games. None of these technical issues were the responsibility of Infostrada Sports, but the clear responsibility of other providers to the OC."

Singh, who took over last month from ousted chief organizer Suresh Kalmadi, indicates India will withhold a total of $4 million from the companies listed in Wednesday’s statement.

Also among the "non-performing" nine are several Australian businesses, including events expert Ric Birch’s Spectak Productions.

Birch, who produced the widely hailed closing ceremony for Delhi 2010, is owed roughly $350,000 and has asked a Melbourne-based law firm to launch a multi-million-dollar class-action suit to recover.

Judging from Thursday’s statement, Infostrada wants in too.

"We will not accept the current situation," Hennemann said.

"We will organize ourselves with other companies, both Australian and international, and fight until it is resolved."

According to the organizing committee, 36 overseas vendors were paid a total $25 million in the final week of January, a period falling within the 10-day ultimatum made Jan. 20.

Whether any more payments are forthcoming remains unclear.

London, Heineken Deal

Heineken is the official lager supplier of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics after agreeing to a third tier sponsorship deal with LOCOG Thursday.

The Dutch beer-maker will have a major presence during the London 2012 at venues where alcohol is served. Heineken also will connect with the British Olympic Association, Team GB, the British Paralympic Association and the Paralympics GB team as part of the deal.

"There are no bigger, global or more spectacular events than the Olympic Games and Paralympic games," Alexis Nasard, Heineken's Chief Commercial Officer, said in a press release. "Based on the experiences gained from being a long-term sponsor of premier sporting events such as the UEFA Champions League and the Rugby World Cup we will utilize London 2012 to celebrate with the world in a way that only Heineken can do."

Heineken also will be a part of hospitality and marketing packages for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Boroughs Back West Ham While Fans Denounce Football Legacy

A dozen London boroughs are backing West Ham’s bid to take over Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.

"This is a vital decision - one which must deliver lasting benefits for all Londoners, not just serve the interests of one football club," their council leaders wrote Thursday in a letter to the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

"Any decision which paved the way for a project which would see the stadium knocked down and then rebuilt would, in our view, be a gross misuse of public resources."

West Ham pledges to retain the stadium structure and athletics track while Premier League rival Tottenham Hotspur plans to knock down the 80,000-capacity venue, build a new purpose-built 60,000-seat football stadium on its site and revitalize the Crystal Palace athletics stadium in south London to fulfill the Olympic pledge made by London bid leadership in 2005.

Fans of both clubs, meanwhile, are backing neither bid, instead insisting the OPLC altogether abandon any semblance of a football legacy for the stadium.

Sky News reported Thursdaythat Hammers and Spurs loyals are teaming with the Football Supporters' Federation to write letters to the Premier League, Football Association and British government as well as OPLC leadership.

A decision on the stadium’s future is expected next week.

Correction

In Wednesday’s story "World Series of Boxing Fires Two Ex-USOC Execs", ATR reported that Jeff Benz left the USOC for a position with World Series of Boxing. However, Benz departed the USOC following the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Since that time, the USOC has had two chief legal counsels, including current counsel Rana Dershowitz, who has served in that role since March 2008.

Around the Rings would like to apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Media Watch

Henrique Meirelles is "the right man" to lead Brazil’s Olympic Public Authority, according to a blog post on The Financial Times’ website.

London’s The Telegraph profiles International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid.

Kazakhstan is showing its value in the Olympic Movement lately.

Dallas is hosting the Super Bowl this Sunday, and commentator Frank Deford writes about the city’s Olympic ambitions for Sports Illustrated.

John Goodbody says the IOC has a long way to go in resolving the Israeli/Palestine issue in the Olympic movement.

With the Olympic debut of Rugby Sevens coming in five years, the sport

is hoping to grow in the United States.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.