GLOBAL NEWS
1
1 USA Los Angeles FC owners conďŹ rm new stadium plans The owners of incoming Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Los Angeles Football Club have announced plans for a new US$250 million stadium. The new team are set to play at a VHDWHU VRFFHU VSHFLĂ€F YHQXH at Exposition Park, on a 15-acre site which will include a conference centre, restaurants and a soccer museum. The Sports Arena, which currently sits on the site, will be demolished to make way for the new stadium complex. The construction process will delay LAFC’s entry into MLS by a year to 2018. The new venue would be the most expensive ever built primarily for soccer LQ WKH 86 DQG WKH Ă€UVW QHZ RSHQ DLU venue in Los Angeles since Dodger Stadium opened in 1962. 60 | www.soccerex.com
2 FRANCE Paris Saint-Germain paying the highest wages in sport Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are paying a higher average weekly wage than any other sports team in the world, the annual ESPN/SportingIntelligence Global Salary Survey has revealed. The Qatari-owned average weekly wage of UK£101,898 puts them top of a football-dominated list. Spanish giants Real Madrid are second on the list with UK£96,933, while the Premier League’s Manchester City are third, paying on average UK£96,445 to their players each week. In fourth are another Spanish side, FC Barcelona, who pay an average of UK£90,675 per week, while Major League Baseball’s (MLB) LA Dodgers are the highest-ranked team outside football, FRPLQJ ÀIWK ZLWK DQ DYHUDJH ZHHNO\ ZDJH of UK£89,999.
3 AUSTRIA Austria Wien unveil new stadium project The Franz Horr Stadium in Vienna, home to Austria Wien, is set to be expanded in a ₏48-million redevelopment plan unveiled by the club. Known as the Generali Arena as part of the club’s sponsorship deal with WKH LQVXUDQFH ÀUP WKH VWDGLXP ZLOO EH H[SDQGHG WR VHDWV D VLJQLÀFDQW increase on its current 14,000 capacity. Several VIP lounges will also be added, taking the total to 38, in a bid to further increase matchday revenue. The club expect the work to begin at the end of the 2015/16 season, and be completed in time for the 2018/19 season. In the meantime they will play at Austria’s national ground, the Ernst Happel Stadium. $XVWULD :LHQ ÀQLVKHG VHYHQWK LQ WKH ten-team Austrian Bundesliga in the 2014/15 season.