Shorts: Everton, Greenhouse Sports, Aurora

Everton FC has confirmed that the club will play its first competitive game in its new stadium at the start of the 2025/26 season after pushing back its move in date.

The Premier League football club had planned to make the move at the halfway point of the 2024/25 campaign.

The new 52,888 capacity stadium is being built at Bramley-Moore Dock and remains on schedule to be completed by the end of 2024 despite the Toffee’s financial struggles.

The decision not to move mid-season is thought to be driven by commercial and logistical reasons, as well as supporter feedback.

Colin Chong, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Everton FC, said the newly proposed move in date was chosen due to “numerous commercial, logistical, sporting and fan-related factors”.

He added, “Firstly, and to be absolutely clear, our decision to not move in mid-season is not because of a construction delay.

“It is a club decision driven by a combination of commercial insight, a comprehensive review of the logistics required, an analysis of the potential impact upon our football operations and, importantly, fan feedback sourced as part of our recent stadium migration survey, which was completed by almost 10,000 Evertonians.

“Everton Stadium remains firmly on track, as scheduled, to be completed in the final weeks of 2024.”

UK charity Greenhouse Sports has appointed Don Barrell as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Barrell will start his term at the charity in February 2024.

He currently serves as Head of Performance and Pathways at England Rugby.

Before that, Barell played professional rugby for Saracens before joining the club in a coaching and development role before switching to Head of the Regional Academies for the RFU.

He has also held advisory roles with the Premier League, the Six Nations and Southampton FC.

Luke Ellis, Chair of Greenhouse Sports, said, “We are delighted that Don is joining the Greenhouse family and we are excited to see his undoubted ability as a leader in coaching and in developing people to fulfil their potential to lead us towards the goals and ambitions we have for Greenhouse Sports. In particular for driving real change and opportunity for the young people and communities we support.”

Don Barrell, upcoming Chief Executive Officer of Greenhouse Sports, added, “I’m truly excited and honoured to have the opportunity to lead Greenhouse Sports. Those that know me and have worked with me will know that the values and culture of this charity and its mission to deliver the positive development of young people to improve life outcomes resonates completely with me.

“Greenhouse Sports has become an exemplar of how sport can have a transformational effect upon individuals and communities, particularly those too often left at the margins of our society. I look forward to joining the Greenhouse ‘Team for Life’ in 2024 and supporting the Greenhouse coaches, staff, trustees and supporters in delivering even more opportunity for everyone they work with.”

Aurora Media Worldwide has been named as the broadcast production partner to padel tournament the Hexagon Cup.

As per the agreement, the London-based agency will provide live action, highlights programming and behind-the-scenes content across multiple platforms.

Included in the coverage, Aurora will create a five-day world feed distributed to multiple broadcasters including Discovery+ and Eurosport.

Lawrence Duffy, Managing Director of Aurora, said, “We are seeing a global explosion of interest in padel. The Hexagon Cup’s goal is to create a compelling viewing experience which not only excites the purist padel fans, but also draws in new audiences who love fast paced action, and are intrigued about this new sport. We are thrilled to be involved with such a stellar cast list in what looks sure to be a world class event.”

Simon Freer, Chairman of the Hexagon Group, added, “We are new to the padel calendar and have high ambitions, but we now need to be able to prove them. Having helped a host of sports start-ups to deliver high quality broadcast shows, winning awards for innovation along the way, we are delighted to be working with the Aurora team to bring our vision to life, and attract new global audiences for the sport we love.”

Worcestershire Cricket Club has announced a partnership with Pluxee UK.

Pluxee UK is a specialist in employee benefits and consumer engagement and will provide a membership scheme for the county cricket club.

Ashley Giles, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Pluxee UK to bring this  comprehensive membership program to our Members.

“We believe this partnership will set a new standard for engagement and rewards in county cricket, and we look forward to working with Pluxee to deliver even more benefits for our members in the years to come.”

SPFL football club Hibernian has announced a partnership extension with Macklin Motors that runs until the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Murray Milligen, Head of Commercial at Hibernian FC, said, “I’m delighted we’re extending our partnership with Macklin Motors for another season. It’s important we partner with organisations who can offer all club players, staff and supporters unrivalled customer service and Macklin certainly offer that within Scottish motor retailing.

“Macklin have immersed themselves into all areas of the club and we have already seen them offer once in a lifetime experiences for our fans. I look forward to continuing to develop the partnership this season and beyond.”

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