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34 • Touchline • Issue 18
laying sport has long been a popular pastime for New Zealanders. But
it’s now that the business of sport that’s entering the mainstream. The
industry is more professional than it’s ever been and this can be seen in
the calibre of world class events being brought to New Zealand. As the
country prepares to host these events, law firm Simpson Grierson is well placed to
provide expert advice to clients through the recent establishment of a dedicated Sports,
Entertainment & Venues team. Sitting within one of New Zealand’s largest law firms,
the team prides itself on having lawyers with a combination of legal and commercial
experience in the sports, entertainment and venue management industry sectors. They
can provide both legal advice and business affairs services to their clients.
Some of the upcoming world class sports events that the team has recently working
on include:
• The FIFA U20 Football World Cup 2015 where the team assisted the local
organising committee in appointing Ticketek as the ticketing service provider for
the event.
• The FIH Women’s World League Final where the team worked closely with Hockey
New Zealand in its successful bid to stage the event in 2017.
• The upcoming Rugby League World Cup where the team worked with New Zealand
Rugby League and the Australian Rugby League Commission in their joint bid to
co-host the event in 2017.
• The exhibition football/soccer match (between English Premier League club
Newcastle United and Sydney FC) to be staged at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium
in July 2014; with the firm acting for the venue operator, Dunedin Venues
Management as the promoter of the event.
The team’s involvement in sport is not just limited to international events. It is acting
for the New Zealand Rural Games Trust. The Trust is looking to stage the inaugural
Rural New Zealand Games in Queenstown in February 2015. The event will include
P
SPECIALIST LEGAL ADVICE
KEY FOR MAJOR EVENTS
HOWDOES SPECIALIST ADVICE FROM LAWFIRMS HELPWITH
STAGING MAJOR SPORTING AND ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS?
LEGAL FOCUS:
Touchline spoke to
specialist sports lawyer
Ashton Welsh, Senior
Associate with New Zealand
law firm Simpson Grierson
for an insight into how law
firms are assisting their
sports clients in areas
that are wider than the
traditional areas of legal
advice.
Ashton Welsh, joined
Simpson Grierson to help
establish the Sports,
Entertainment and Venues
team. He had previously
spent 15 years working
internationally in a number
of legal, business affairs
and commercial roles across
sports properties such as
ATP World Tour, FINA World
Swimming Championships,
America’s Cup, Volvo
Ocean Race, Champions
Hockey League, FEI World
Equestrian Games (not to
mention the world’s most
successful game show “Who
Wants to be a Millionaire?”).