West Ham Wins Stadium; Stockholm Gold Up for Auction; Latin America TV Rights

West Ham Wins Olympic Stadium

West Ham United will take over Olympic Stadium after all, the London Legacy Development Corporation confirms.

According to BBC Sport, the deal was done after government agreed to pitch in an extra $38 million to convert the venue into a 54,000-seater inside which the Hammers will kick off its 2016/17 campaign.

"This Olympic Stadium will now be the home of a great London football club that gave this country Bobby Moore, Trevor Brooking and Geoff Hurst - and of course Alf Garnett as well," London Mayor and LLDC Chairman Boris Johnson said Friday.

"After a massive, long negotiation which went well into extra-time - my last conversation with David Sullivan was at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night - I want to pay tribute to both teams for a deal that I think is great for West Ham, great for London and great for football and which fully protects the interests of the tax-payer."

For more than two years, West Ham had been the preferred bidder, but legal wrangling forced the LLDC to scrap its original plans to make the east London football club its tenant from 2014.

In the latest round of bidding, three other proposals emerged from Leyton Orient, the UCFB College of Football Business and a group trying to transform the 80,000-seat stadium into part of a Formula One track.

"'It's fantastic for everyone at West Ham United that at last all the Club's hard work over the past three years has paid off," Hammers Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold said in a statement.

"Today's decision offers us a real platform to do this and we are fully committed to making it a real success. We understand the responsibilities that come with calling the nation's iconic Olympic Stadium, which will be converted into a world-class football stadium, our new home. It is an honor we will take on with pride.''

Rare Stockholm Gold Among Auction Items

A rare 1956 Stockholm gold medal estimated at $22,500 highlights an Olympic auction closing tonight. Only 12 gold medals were awarded in the 1956 equestrian competition, held in Sweden because of quarantine rules in Australia. Two other gold medals are also among the 140 items offered by Ulf Strom of Stockholm, with bids still accepted by email and phone. A gold medal from 1952 Helsinki in its original box, is estimated at $7,000 and a gold from 1992 Barcelona has an estimate of $6,500.

A seldom-seen badge from the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, which depicts the winners’ medal design bordered by enamel in the Belgian colors, carries an estimate of $12,500. Other rare badges include a 1948 London badge for a member of the International Olympic Committee, a 1936 Berlin IOC badge and a 1936 Berlin organizing committee president’s badge. All three have estimates of $7,500. The buyer’s premium is 12.5 percent, which is lower than most other auctions.

To see the auction catalog, click here.

IOC Awards Latin America TV Rights

América Móvil will broadcast the 2014 and 2016 Olympics throughout Latin America.

The IOC announced the deal on Friday. The agreement covers 17 countries and does not include Brazil.

"We are extremely pleased with this successful agreement of America Movil with the International Olympic Committee, Arturo Elías Ayub, Telmex Strategic Alliances VP, said. "The Olympic Games will be broadcast on all media platforms across Latin America, supporting the global transmission through new technologies, helping millions of people in Latin America to have access to the biggest international sporting event."

IOC Schedules Doping, Anti-Betting Meetings

The IOC will meet May 21 to discuss the "deteriorating" relations with the World Anti-Doping Agency and sport federations and on May 14 to discuss ways to combat illegal betting in sports.

A report in the Associated Press says the May 21 meeting will feature 20-25 representatives from sports, the IOC, WADA and National Olympic Committees and will focus on how to improve relations with WADA.

"Relations with WADA have deteriorated significantly and the lack of help and support from WADA against a background of constant media criticism of its sports 'partners' and the consequent breakdown of trust need to be addressed as a priority," Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of ASOIF, was quoted by AP as writing in a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge.

May 14 is a separate meeting and will bring together the IOC, governments and betting officials.

Karate Touts Youth Participation

The World Karate Federation boasts that 65 percent of its 100 million practitioners are under the age of 14.

WKF made the announcement in a statement touting youth participation as a strong indicator for the future strength of the sport, saying it "bodes well for the future."

Karate is among eight sports shortlisted for addition to the 2020 Olympics.

CISA Convention Set

The seventh edition of the CISA Convention is set for May 3-5 in Dakar, Senegal. The convention brings together sport officials in Africa to discuss ways of promoting sport in the continent.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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