1.
Lincoln International
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Lincoln International is an independent investment bank specializing in advisory services and financings for middle-market companies. The firm provides a variety of services including mergers & acquisitions, fairness opinions, debt, restructuring advisory. The firm completed more than 165 advisory assignments globally in 2015, the firm, which is based in Chicago, Illinois, was founded in 1996. The firm was founded by Robert B. Barr and Jim Lawson as an investment banking firm, Lincoln Partners. The two co-founders of Lincoln Partners had worked together from 1981 through 1990 in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department of Paine Webber, in 1990, they left Paine Webber to start up the Chicago office of Peers & Co. where they remained for six years. The firm was named after the 16th President of the United States, through the late 1990s, Lincoln Partners grew to an organization of approximately 30 people and became a registered broker dealer. In January 2006, Lincoln International was formed through the merger of Lincoln Partners and Peters Associates, at the time of the merger, Lincoln International had offices in Chicago, Frankfurt, New York and Paris. The firms had worked together through a strategic joint venture established in 2005 as Lincoln Partners was seeking a partner to expand beyond the US. Lincoln International was built upon providing advisory services to leading industrial companies and they have over 180 completed advisory assignments within the industrial space in the past five years
2.
Ticker symbol
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A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both, ticker symbol refers to the symbols that were printed on the ticker tape of a ticker tape machine. Stock symbols are unique identifiers assigned to each security traded on a particular market, for example, AAPL is for Apple Inc. OODH is for Orion DHC, Inc. and HD is for Home Depot, a stock symbol can consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of both, and is a way to uniquely identify that stock. The symbols were kept as short as possible to reduce the number of characters that had to be printed on the ticker tape, the allocation of symbols and formatting convention is specific to each stock exchange. In the US, for example, stock tickers are typically between 1 and 4 letters and represent the name where possible. In Europe, most exchanges use three-letter codes, for example Dutch consumer goods company Unilever traded on the Amsterdam Euronext exchange has the symbol UNA, while in Asia, numbers are often used as stock tickers to avoid issues for international investors when using non-Latin scripts. For example, the bank HSBCs stock traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has the ticker symbol 0005, symbols sometimes change to reflect mergers. Prior to the 1999 merger with Mobil Oil, Exxon used a spelling of the company XON as its ticker symbol. The symbol of the firm after the merger was XOM, symbols are sometimes reused, in the US the single-letter symbols are particularly sought after as vanity symbols. For example, since Mar 2008 Visa Inc. has used the symbol V that had previously used by Vivendi which had delisted. To fully qualify a stock, both the ticker and the exchange or country of listing needs to be known, on many systems both must be specified to uniquely identify the security. This is often done by appending the location or exchange code to the ticker, although stock tickers identify a security, they are exchange dependent, generally limited to stocks and can change. These limitations have led to the development of other codes in financial markets to identify securities for settlement purposes, the most prevalent of these is the International Securities Identifying Number. An ISIN uniquely identifies a security and its structure is defined in ISO6166, Securities for which ISINs are issued include bonds, commercial paper, stocks, and warrants. The ISIN identifies the security, not the exchange on which it trades, for instance, Daimler AG stock trades on twenty-two different stock exchanges worldwide, and is priced in five different currencies, it has the same ISIN on each, though not the same ticker symbol. ISIN cannot specify a particular trade in this case, and another identifier, following the introduction of the Sequence trading platform in 1996, EPICs were renamed Tradable Instrument Display Mnemonics, but they are still widely referred to as EPICs. Stocks can also be identified using their SEDOL number or their ISIN, in the United States, modern letter-only ticker symbols were developed by Standard & Poors to bring a national standard to investing
3.
New York Stock Exchange
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The New York Stock Exchange, is an American stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street, Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York. It is by far the worlds largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its companies at US$19.3 trillion as of June 2016. The average daily trading value was approximately US$169 billion in 2013, the NYSE trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street and is composed of 21 rooms used for the facilitation of trading. A fifth trading room, located at 30 Broad Street, was closed in February 2007, the main building and the 11 Wall Street building were designated National Historic Landmarks in 1978. The NYSE is owned by Intercontinental Exchange, an American holding company that it also lists, previously, it was part of NYSE Euronext, which was formed by the NYSEs 2007 merger with Euronext. NYSE and Euronext now operate as divisions of Intercontinental Exchange, the NYSE has been the subject of several lawsuits regarding fraud or breach of duty and in 2004 was sued by its former CEO for breach of contract and defamation. The earliest recorded organization of securities trading in New York among brokers directly dealing with each other can be traced to the Buttonwood Agreement, previously securities exchange had been intermediated by the auctioneers who also conducted more mundane auctions of commodities such as wheat and tobacco. In 1817 the stockbrokers of New York operating under the Buttonwood Agreement instituted new reforms, after sending a delegation to Philadelphia to observe the organization of their board of brokers, restrictions on manipulative trading were adopted as well as formal organs of governance. Several locations were used between 1817 and 1865, when the present location was adopted, the invention of the electrical telegraph consolidated markets, and New Yorks market rose to dominance over Philadelphia after weathering some market panics better than other alternatives. The Civil War greatly stimulated speculative securities trading in New York, by 1869 membership had to be capped, and has been sporadically increased since. The latter half of the century saw rapid growth in securities trading. Securities trade in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was prone to panics. The Stock Exchange Luncheon Club was situated on the floor from 1898 until its closure in 2006. The main building, located at 18 Broad Street, between the corners of Wall Street and Exchange Place, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978, as was the 11 Wall Street building. The NYSE announced its plans to merge with Archipelago on April 21,2005, NYSEs governing board voted to merge with rival Archipelago on December 6,2005, and became a for-profit, public company. It began trading under the name NYSE Group on March 8,2006, Wall Street is the leading US money center for international financial activities and the foremost US location for the conduct of wholesale financial services. It comprises a matrix of wholesale financial sectors, financial markets, financial institutions, the principal sectors are securities industry, commercial banking, asset management, and insurance. Prior to the acquisition of NYSE Euronext by the ICE in 2013, Marsh Carter was the Chairman of the NYSE, presently, the chairman is Jeffrey Sprecher
4.
S&P 500
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The S&P500 index components and their weightings are determined by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It differs from other U. S. stock market indices, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the Nasdaq Composite index, because of its diverse constituency and weighting methodology. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices, and many consider it one of the best representations of the U. S. stock market, the National Bureau of Economic Research has classified common stocks as a leading indicator of business cycles. The S&P500 was developed and continued to be maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes many stock market indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P MidCap 400, the S&P SmallCap 600, and the S&P Composite 1500. It is a free-float capitalization-weighted index, and has many symbols, such as, ^GSPC, INX. The Composite Index, as the S&P500 was first called when it introduced its first stock index in 1923, three years later in 1926, the Composite Index expanded to 90 stocks and then in 1957 it expanded to its current 500. Standard & Poors, a company that doles out financial information, in 1941 Poors Publishing merged with Standard Statistics and therein assumed the name Standard and Poors Corporation. The S&P500 index in its present form began on March 4,1957, technology has allowed the index to be calculated and disseminated in real time. The S&P500 is widely used as a measure of the level of stock prices. In September 1962, Ultronic Systems Corp. entered into an agreement with Standard, under the terms of this agreement, Ultronics computed the S&P500 Stock Composite Index, the 425 Stock Industrial Index, the 50 Stock Utility Index, and the 25 Stock Rail Index. Throughout the market day these statistics were furnished to Standard & Poors, in addition, Ultronics also computed and reported the 94 S&P sub-indexes. On August 12,1982, the index closed at 102.42, the index reached a relative intraday high—which was not exceeded for over seven years—of 1,552.87, on March 24,2000, during the dot-com bubble. The index then declined by approximately 50%, to 768.63, on October 10,2002, on May 30,2007, the S&P500 closed at 1,530.23, to set its first all-time closing high in more than seven years. Less than a later, it dropped to 1,400. In mid-2007, the mortgage crisis spread to the wider U. S. financial sector. On November 20,2008, the index closed at 752.44, a modest recovery the following day still left the index down 45. 5% for the year. This year-to-date loss was the greatest since 1931, when the market declined more than 50%. The index closed the year at 903.25, for a loss of 38. 5%, the market continued to decline in early 2009, surrounding the financial crisis of 2008
5.
Insurance
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Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss. It is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, an entity which provides insurance is known as an insurer, insurance company, or insurance carrier. A person or entity who buys insurance is known as an insured or policyholder, the insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be financially compensated. The amount of money charged by the insurer to the insured for the coverage set forth in the policy is called the premium. If the insured experiences a loss which is covered by the insurance policy. Methods for transferring or distributing risk were practiced by Chinese and Babylonian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessels capsizing. The Babylonians developed a system which was recorded in the famous Code of Hammurabi, c.1750 BC, and practiced by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant received a loan to fund his shipment, he would pay the lender an additional sum in exchange for the guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen. At some point in the 1st millennium BC, the inhabitants of Rhodes created the general average and this allowed groups of merchants to pay to insure their goods being shipped together. The collected premiums would be used to any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during transport. Separate insurance contracts were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, the first known insurance contract dates from Genoa in 1347, and in the next century maritime insurance developed widely and premiums were intuitively varied with risks. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment, Insurance became far more sophisticated in Enlightenment era Europe, and specialized varieties developed. Property insurance as we know it today can be traced to the Great Fire of London, initially,5,000 homes were insured by his Insurance Office. At the same time, the first insurance schemes for the underwriting of business ventures became available, by the end of the seventeenth century, Londons growing importance as a center for trade was increasing demand for marine insurance. These informal beginnings led to the establishment of the insurance market Lloyds of London and several related shipping, the first life insurance policies were taken out in the early 18th century. The first company to offer life insurance was the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office, founded in London in 1706 by William Talbot, edward Rowe Mores established the Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorship in 1762. In the late 19th century, accident insurance began to become available and this operated much like modern disability insurance. The first company to offer accident insurance was the Railway Passengers Assurance Company, by the late 19th century, governments began to initiate national insurance programs against sickness and old age
6.
Asset management
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Asset management, broadly defined, refers to any system that monitors and maintains things of value to an entity or group. It may apply to both tangible assets such as buildings and to intangible assets such as capital, intellectual property. Asset management is a process of deploying, operating, maintaining, upgrading. The term is most commonly used in the world to describe people. These include, for example, investment managers that manage the assets of a pension fund, the most common usage of the term asset manager refers to investment management, the sector of the financial services industry that manages investment funds and segregated client accounts. An asset management is a part of a company which comprises experts who manage money. Operating and sustainment of assets in a constrained budget environment require a prioritization scheme, as a way of illustration, the recent development of renewable energy has seen the rise of effective asset managers involved in the management of solar systems. These teams are more and more teaming-up with financial asset managers in order to offer turn key solutions to investors. Software asset management is one kind of asset management. It is related to asset health management, infrastructure asset management expands on this theme in relation primarily to public sector, utilities, property and transport systems. An example in which public asset management is used is land-use development, an EAM requires an asset registry combined with a computerized maintenance management system. All public assets are interconnected and share proximity, possible through the use of information systems. A GIS platform combined with information of both the hard and soft assets helps to remove the traditional silos of structured municipal functions, the GIS platform is only an assisting tool, asset managers need to make informed decisions about their assets in order to fulfill their organizational goals. List of asset management firms P2P Asset Management Robo-advisor Baird, G, defining Public Asset Management for Municipal Water Utilities. Journal American Water Works Association May 2011,103,5,30, www. awwa. org
7.
Radnor, Pennsylvania
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Radnor is an unincorporated community in Radnor Township of Delaware County and Tredyffrin Township of Chester County in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. It lies near the communities of Villanova and St. Davids, and is served by the SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Line of Regional Rail, the community was named after Radnor, in Wales. Radnor includes the estates of Woodcrest, Walmarthon, Bolingbroke, Rock Rose, nearby places of worship include St. Davids Episcopal Church, whose graveyard and buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among the companies based in Radnor are real estate company Brandywine Realty Trust, energy company Penn Virginia, insurer Lincoln National, wholesaler VWR, the community is served by the Radnor Township School District. It is also the setting of Judy Blumes young adult novel, Blubber
8.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
9.
Asset
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In financial accounting, an asset is an economic resource. Anything tangible or intangible that can be owned or controlled to produce value, simply stated, assets represent value of ownership that can be converted into cash. The balance sheet of a firm records the value of the assets owned by that firm. It covers money and other valuables belonging to an individual or to a business, one can classify assets into two major asset classes, tangible assets and intangible assets. Tangible assets contain various subclasses, including current assets and fixed assets, current assets include inventory, while fixed assets include such items as buildings and equipment. Intangible assets are resources and rights that have a value to the firm because they give the firm some kind of advantage in the marketplace. Examples of intangible assets include goodwill, copyrights, trademarks, patents and computer programs, an asset is a resource controlled by the entity as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity. One of the most widely accepted accounting definitions of asset is the one used by the International Accounting Standards Board, employees are not considered assets like machinery is, even though they can generate future economic benefits. This is because an entity does not have sufficient control over its employees to satisfy the Frameworks definition of an asset, similarly, in economics an asset is any form in which wealth can be held. The accounting equation is the structure of the balance sheet. It relates assets, liabilities, and owners equity, Assets = Liabilities + Capital Liabilities = Assets − Capital Equity = Assets − Liabilities Assets are listed on the balance sheet. On a companys balance sheet certain divisions are required by generally accepted accounting principles, Assets can be divided into e. g. current assets and fixed assets, often with further subdivisions such as cash, receivables and inventory. Assets are formally controlled and managed within larger organizations via the use of asset tracking tools and these monitor the purchasing, upgrading, servicing, licensing, disposal etc. of both physical and non-physical assets. Current assets are cash and other assets expected to be converted to cash or consumed either in a year or in the operating cycle and these assets are continually turned over in the course of a business during normal business activity. There are 5 major items included into current assets, Cash and cash equivalents – it is the most liquid asset, which includes currency, deposit accounts, short-term investments – include securities bought and held for sale in the near future to generate income on short-term price differences. Receivables – usually reported as net of allowance for non-collectable accounts, inventory – trading these assets is a normal business of a company. The inventory value reported on the sheet is usually the historical cost or fair market value. This is known as the lower of cost or market rule, prepaid expenses – these are expenses paid in cash and recorded as assets before they are used or consumed
10.
Equity (finance)
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In accounting, equity is the difference between the value of the assets and the value of the liabilities of something owed. Equity can be negative if liabilities exceeds assets, shareholders equity represents the equity of a company as divided among shareholders of common or preferred stock. Negative shareholders equity is often referred to as a shareholders deficit, alternatively, equity can also refer to the capital stock of a corporation. The value of the stock depends on the future economic prospects. For a company in liquidation proceedings, the equity is that which remains after all liabilities have been paid, when starting a business, the owners fund the business to finance various operations. Throughout the businesss existence, the equity of the business will be the difference between its assets and debt liabilities, this is the accounting equation, when a business liquidates during bankruptcy, the proceeds from the assets are used to reimburse creditors. The creditors are ranked by priority, with secured creditors being paid first, other creditors being paid next, owners equity is this remaining or residual claim against assets, which is paid only after all other creditors are paid. In such cases where even creditors could not get money to pay their bills. In financial accounting, owners equity consists of the net assets of an entity, net assets is the difference between the total assets and total liabilities. Equity appears on the sheet, one of the four primary financial statements. The assets of an entity can be tangible and intangible items. Intangible assets include such as brand names, copyrights or goodwill. Tangible assets include land, equipment, and cash, issue of new equity in which the firm obtains new capital increases the total shareholders equity. Share repurchases, in which a firm returns money to investors, reducing on the side its financial assets. For practical purposes, share repurchasing is similar to a dividend payment, rather than giving money to all shareholders immediately in the form of a dividend payment, a share repurchase reduces the number of shares outstanding. Dividends paid out to preferred stock owners are considered an expense to be subtracted from net income, sometimes assets bought and held in other countries get translated back into the reporting currency at different exchange rates, resulting in a changed value. When the owners are shareholders, the interest can be called shareholders equity, the remains the same. If all shareholders are in one and the class, they share equally in ownership equity from all perspectives
11.
Indiana
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Indiana /ɪndiˈænə/ is a U. S. state located in the midwestern and Great Lakes regions of North America. Indiana is the 38th largest by area and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th U. S. state on December 11,1816, before becoming a territory, varying cultures of indigenous peoples and historic Native Americans inhabited Indiana for thousands of years. Indiana has an economy with a gross state product of $298 billion in 2012. Indiana has several areas with populations greater than 100,000. The states name means Land of the Indians, or simply Indian Land and it also stems from Indianas territorial history. On May 7,1800, the United States Congress passed legislation to divide the Northwest Territory into two areas and named the section the Indiana Territory. In 1816, when Congress passed an Enabling Act to begin the process of establishing statehood for Indiana, a resident of Indiana is officially known as a Hoosier. The first inhabitants in what is now Indiana were the Paleo-Indians, divided into small groups, the Paleo-Indians were nomads who hunted large game such as mastodons. They created stone tools made out of chert by chipping, knapping and flaking, the Archaic period, which began between 5000 and 4000 BC, covered the next phase of indigenous culture. The people developed new tools as well as techniques to cook food, such new tools included different types of spear points and knives, with various forms of notches. They made ground-stone tools such as axes, woodworking tools. During the latter part of the period, they built mounds and middens. The Archaic period ended at about 1500 BC, although some Archaic people lived until 700 BC, afterward, the Woodland period took place in Indiana, where various new cultural attributes appeared. During this period, the people created ceramics and pottery, an early Woodland period group named the Adena people had elegant burial rituals, featuring log tombs beneath earth mounds. In the middle portion of the Woodland period, the Hopewell people began developing long-range trade of goods, nearing the end of the stage, the people developed highly productive cultivation and adaptation of agriculture, growing such crops as corn and squash. The Woodland period ended around 1000 AD, the Mississippian culture emerged, lasting from 1000 until the 15th century, shortly before the arrival of Europeans. During this stage, the people created large urban settlements designed according to their cosmology, with mounds and plazas defining ceremonial
12.
Naming rights
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For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three to 20 years. Longer terms are common for higher profile venues such as a professional sports facility. The distinctive characteristic for this type of naming rights is that the buyer gets a marketing property to promote products and services, there are several forms of corporate sponsored names. A presenting sponsor attaches the name of the corporation or brand at the end of a generic, usually traditional, a title sponsor replaces the original name of the property with a corporate-sponsored one, with no reference to the previous name. In a few cases, naming rights contracts have been terminated prematurely, such terminations may be the result of contractual options, sponsor bankruptcy, or scandals. Stadium naming may have shifted in recent years to promoting corporate trade names, the record for the highest amount paid for naming rights belongs to Citi Field and Barclays Center, both located in New York City, US. Each garnered deals of $20 million per year for at least 20 years and it ultimately fell short of that benchmark, with MetLife Stadium earning $17 million annually from its naming rights deal with MetLife. Naming rights in United States may have traced back to 1912 with the opening of Fenway Park in Boston. The stadiums owner had owned a realty company called Fenway Realty, despite this, it is more widely believed to have begun in 1926 when William Wrigley, the chewing gum magnate and owner of the Chicago Cubs, named his teams stadium Wrigley Field. In 1953, Anheuser-Busch head and St. Louis Cardinals owner August Busch, Jr. proposed renaming Sportsmans Park, occupied by the Cardinals, Budweiser Stadium. When this idea was rejected by Ford Frick, the Commissioner of Baseball at that time, the name was readily approved, and Anheuser-Busch subsequently released a new product called Busch Bavarian Beer. The name would later be shifted to the Busch Memorial Stadium in 1966, shortened in the 1970s to Busch Stadium, the public reaction to this practice is mixed. Selling the naming rights to a venue has been notably less successful. The general public continued to call the facility what it had known as for over three decades–i. e. After the agreement with 3Com expired, the rights were resold to Monster Cable, the initiative proved largely ceremonial, however, and it was overturned by the passage of Proposition C in 2009 in response to desperate economic times. The naming rights to the park were never resold and the closed in 2014. Sports stadiums with naming rights deals are not limited to the United States, in cricket, the most famous example is The Oval, home of Surrey County Cricket Club. It has had several sponsors over the years, and is known as The Kia Oval, having originally been known as the Kennington Oval
13.
Lincoln Financial Field
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Lincoln Financial Field is the home stadium of the National Football Leagues Philadelphia Eagles and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. It has a capacity of 69,176. It is located in South Philadelphia on Pattison Avenue between 11th and South Darien streets, also alongside I-95 as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, many locals refer to the stadium simply as The Linc. The stadium opened on August 3,2003 after two years of construction began on May 7,2001, replacing Veterans Stadium. While total seating capacity is similar to that of The Vet, the fields construction included several light emitting diode video displays, as well as more than 624 feet of LED ribbon boards. Naming rights were sold in June 2002 to Lincoln Financial Group, additional construction funding was raised from the sale of Stadium Builders Licenses to Eagles season ticket holders. The Army–Navy football game has played at the stadium. Temple Universitys Division I college football team plays their home games at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer have played games here against high-profile international clubs when their stadium Talen Energy Stadium does not provide adequate seating. The stadium also plays host to several games each year. In late spring of 2013, the Eagles announced that there will be some major upgrades to Lincoln Financial Field over the next 2 years, the total project estimate is valued at over $125 million. The upgrades included seating expansion, two new HD video boards, upgraded amenities, WiFi, and two new connecting bridges for upper levels and these upgrades were decided upon after research from season ticket holders, advisory boards, and fan focus groups. The majority of changes, including WiFi, were completed by the 2013 home opener. The upgraded sound systems and video boards were finished for the 2014 season, August 3,2003, Lincoln Financial Field hosted its first ticketed event, a soccer match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona. August 22,2003, The Philadelphia Eagles hosted the New England Patriots in the first pre-season football game at Lincoln Financial Field, September 6,2003, Lincoln Financial Field hosted its first regular-season college football game, a college matchup of local Philadelphia rivals, Villanova and Temple. Villanova prevailed 23–20 in double overtime, September 8,2003, The Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers competed on Monday Night Football in the first regular-season NFL game at Lincoln Financial Field. The game was referenced as the Inaugural Game at Lincoln Financial Field, the Buccaneers defeated the Eagles 17–0 in their new home. NFC Divisional Playoff, January 11,2004 and this game is also known as The Miracle of 4th and 26
14.
Philadelphia Eagles
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The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The franchise was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets, when a group led by Bert Bell secured the rights to an NFL franchise in Philadelphia. Bell, Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Greasy Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen, the team has an intense rivalry with the New York Giants. This rivalry is the oldest in the NFC East and is among the oldest in the NFL and they also have a historic rivalry with the Washington Redskins, as well as their bitter rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, which has become more high-profile in the last three decades. The team consistently ranks in the top three in attendance and has sold out every game since the 1999 season, in a Sports Illustrated poll of 321 NFL players, Eagles fans were selected the most intimidating fans in the NFL. Midway through the 1931 season, the Frankford Yellow Jackets went bankrupt, the Bell-Wray group had to pay an entry fee of $3,500 and assumed a total debt of $11,000 that was owed to three other NFL franchises. Neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regard the two franchises as the same, citing the period of dormancy. Furthermore, almost no Yellow Jackets players were on the Eagles first roster, the Eagles, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the now-defunct Cincinnati Reds, joined the NFL as expansion teams. To accommodate football at Shibe Park during the winter, management set up stands in right field, some 20 feet high, these east stands had 22 rows of seats. The goalposts stood along the first base line and in left field, the uncovered east stands enlarged capacity of Shibe Park to over 39,000, but the Eagles rarely drew more than 25 to 30,000. The Eagles struggled over the course of their first decade, enduring repeated losing seasons, soon after, Bell and Rooney traded the Eagles franchise to Thompson and moved it to Pittsburgh, while Thompson moved the Steelers franchise to Philadelphia. By the late 1940s, head coach Earle Greasy Neale and running back Steve Van Buren led the team to three consecutive NFL Championship Games, winning two of them in 1948 and 1949. After the 1957 season, the Eagles moved from Connie Mack Stadium to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin Field would seat over 60,000 for the Eagles, whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39,000. The stadium switched from grass to AstroTurf in 1969 and it was the first NFL stadium to use artificial turf. In 1960, the Eagles won their third NFL championship, under the leadership of future Pro Football Hall of Famers Norm Van Brocklin and Chuck Bednarik, the head coach was Buck Shaw. The 1960 Eagles, by a score of 17–13, became the team to defeat Vince Lombardi. The Eagles had a good 1961 season and then fell on hard times in 1962
15.
National Football League
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The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
16.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
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Fort Wayne is a city in the U. S. state of Indiana and the seat of Allen County. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles west of the Ohio border and 50 miles south of the Michigan border. With an estimated population of 260,326 in 2015, Fort Wayne is the 77th most populous city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana, after Indianapolis. It is the city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen, Wells, and Whitley counties. In addition to the three counties, the combined statistical area includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble. Under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman Anthony Wayne, the United States Army built Fort Wayne last in a series of forts near the Miami tribe village of Kekionga in 1794. Named in Waynes honor, the European-American settlement developed at the confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Marys, the village was platted in 1823 and underwent tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. The city is a center for the industry which employs thousands. Fort Wayne was an All-America City Award recipient in 1982,1998, the city also received an Outstanding Achievement City Livability Award by the U. S. This area at the confluence of rivers was long occupied by cultures of indigenous peoples. The Miami tribe established its settlement of Kekionga at the confluence of the Maumee, St. Joseph and it was the capital of the Miami nation and related Algonquian tribes. In 1696, Comte de Frontenac appointed Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes as commander of the outpost, the French built Fort Miami in 1697 as part of a group of forts and trading posts built between Quebec and St. Louis. In 1721, a few years after Bissots death, Fort Miami was replaced by Fort St. Philippe des Miamis, the first census in 1744 recorded a population of approximately 40 Frenchmen and 1,000 Miami. Increasing tension between France and the United Kingdom developed over the territory, in 1760, the area was ceded to the British Empire after French forces surrendered during the French and Indian War. In 1763, various Native American nations rebelled against British rule, the Miami regained control of Kekionga, a rule that lasted for more than 30 years. In 1790, George Washington ordered the United States Army to secure Indiana Territory, Three battles were fought at Kekionga against Little Turtle and the Miami Confederacy. Miami warriors defeated U. S. forces in the first two battles, Anthony Wayne led a third expedition resulting in the destruction of Kekionga and the start of peace negotiations between Little Turtle and the U. S. After General Wayne refused to negotiate, the tribe advanced to Fallen Timbers where they were defeated on August 20,1794
17.
Abraham Lincoln
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Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, in doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the frontier in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, in 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state. Though he gained little support in the slaveholding states of the South. Subsequently, on April 12,1861, a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to enthusiastically rally behind the Union. Politically, Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and his Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of the principles of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln initially concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war and his primary goal was to reunite the nation. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the ex parte Merryman decision. Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including his most successful general, Lincoln tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded. As the war progressed, his moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. On April 14,1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton launched a manhunt for Booth, and 12 days later on April 26, Lincoln has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as among the greatest U. S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12,1809, the child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk to its namesake of Hingham, samuels grandson and great-grandson began the familys western migration, which passed through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincolns paternal grandfather and namesake, Captain Abraham Lincoln, moved the family from Virginia to Jefferson County, Captain Lincoln was killed in an Indian raid in 1786. His children, including eight-year-old Thomas, the presidents father
18.
Robert Todd Lincoln
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Robert Todd Lincoln was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman. He was the first son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, born in Springfield, Illinois, United States, he was the only one of Lincolns four sons to live an adult life, and the only member of the family to survive into the 20th century. Lincoln attended Harvard University, and then served on the staff of Ulysses S. Grant as a captain in the Union Army in the days of the American Civil War. Following completion of law school in Chicago, he built a law practice. After the war Lincoln married Mary Eunice Harlan, the daughter of a United States senator and they remained married until his death, and were the parents of three children. The one office to which he was elected was town supervisor of South Chicago, which he held from 1876 to 1877, the town later became part of the city of Chicago. Lincoln accepted appointments as secretary of war in the administration of James A. Garfield, continuing under Chester A. Arthur, in Lincolns later years he resided at homes in Washington, D. C. and Manchester, Vermont. The Manchester home, Hildene, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, in 1922 he took part in the dedication ceremonies for the Lincoln Memorial. A dedicated amateur astronomer and golfer, Lincoln remained active almost until his death and he died at Hildene on July 26,1926, six days before his eighty-third birthday, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Robert Todd Lincoln was born in Springfield, Illinois, on August 1,1843, to Abraham Lincoln and he had three younger brothers, Edward Baker Lincoln, William Wallace Lincoln and Thomas Tad Lincoln. By the time Lincoln was born, his father had become a member of the Whig political party and had previously served as a member of the state legislature for four terms. Robert Lincoln was named after his maternal grandfather, by the time his father became president of the United States, Lincoln was the only one of the presidents three children to be largely on his own. He took the Harvard University entrance examination in 1859, but failed fifteen out of the sixteen subjects and he was then enrolled at Phillips Exeter Academy to further prepare for attending college, and he graduated in 1860. Admitted to Harvard College, he graduated in 1864, and was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club, morris states after gaining admission to Harvard, Robert Lincoln emerged from college an unsympathetic bore. After graduating from Harvard, Lincoln enrolled at Harvard Law School, Robert Lincoln attended Harvard Law School from September,1864 to January,1865, and left in order to join the Union Army. Much to the embarrassment of the president, Mary Todd Lincoln prevented Robert Lincoln from joining the Army until shortly before the wars conclusion. We have lost one son, and his loss is as much as I can bear, without being called upon to make another sacrifice, President Lincoln argued our son is not more dear to us than the sons of other people are to their mothers. However, Mary Todd Lincoln persisted by stating that she could not bear to have Robert exposed to danger, in January 1865, the First Lady yielded and President Lincoln wrote Ulysses S. Grant, asking if Robert could be placed on his staff
19.
Springfield, Illinois
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Springfield is the capital of the U. S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The citys population of 116,250 as of the 2010 U. S. Census makes it the sixth most populous city. It is the largest city in central Illinois, present-day Springfield was settled by European Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861. The city lies on a flat plain that encompasses much of the surrounding countryside. Hilly terrain lies near the Sangamon River, lake Springfield, a large artificial lake owned by the City Water, Light & Power company, supplies the city with recreation and drinking water. Weather is fairly typical for middle latitude locations, with hot summers, spring and summer weather is like that of most midwestern cities, severe thunderstorms are common. Tornadoes hit the Springfield area in 1957 and 2006, the city is governed by a mayor–council form of government. The city proper is also the Capital Township governmental entity, in addition, the government of the state of Illinois is also based in Springfield. State government entities include the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court, there are three public and three private high schools in Springfield. Public schools in Springfield are operated by District No.186, Springfields economy is marked by government jobs, and the medical field, which account for a large percentage of the citys workforce. Springfields original name was Calhoun, after Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, the land that Springfield now occupies was originally settled by trappers and traders who came to the Sangamon River in 1818. The settlements first cabin was built in 1820, by John Kelly and it was located at what is now the northwest corner of Second Street and Jefferson Street. In 1821, Calhoun became the county seat of Sangamon County due to fertile soil, settlers from Kentucky, Virginia, and as far as North Carolina came to the city. By 1832, Senator Calhoun had fallen out of the favor with the public, at that time, Springfield, Massachusetts was comparable to modern-day Silicon Valley—known for industrial innovation, concentrated prosperity, and the celebrated Springfield Armory. Most importantly, it was a city that had built itself up from frontier outpost to national power through ingenuity – an example that the newly named Springfield, Illinois, sought to emulate. Kaskaskia was the first capital of the Illinois Territory from its organization in 1809, continuing through statehood in 1818, vandalia was the second state capital of Illinois from 1819 to 1839. Springfield became the third and current capital of Illinois in 1839, the designation was largely due to the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and his associates, nicknamed the Long Nine for their combined height of 54 feet
20.
Swiss Re
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For the Swiss Re Tower, London, see,30 St Mary Axe Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, generally known as Swiss Re, is a reinsurance company based in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the world’s second-largest reinsurer and it acquired GE Insurance Solutions in 2006. Founded in 1863, Swiss Re operates through offices in more than 25 countries, Swiss Re was ranked 118th in Forbes 2000 Global leading companies 2016. It was also ranked 313th in Fortune Global 500 in 2015 - competitor and industry leader Munich Re, on 10/11 May 1861, more than 500 houses went up in flames in the town of Glarus. Two thirds of the town sank into rubble and ashes, around 3000 inhabitants were made homeless, like the fire of Hamburg in 1842, the great fire of Glarus in 1861 showed that insurance coverage was totally inadequate in Switzerland in the event of such a catastrophe. Hence the need to more effective means of coping with the risks posed by such devastation. The company’s articles of association were approved by the government of the Canton of Zurich on 19 December 1863, the foundation capital, which was 15% paid up, amounted to 6 million Swiss francs. The official foundation document bore the signature of the poet Gottfried Keller, however, Swiss Re were not officially present in China until the 1990s, the headquarters for China in Wanchai, Hong Kong, opened in 2003. Swiss Re was the lead insurer of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks which led to a dispute with the owner. In October 2006, the New York appeals court ruled in favor of Swiss Re, on 31 October 2008, Swiss Re completed a £762 million acquisition of Barclays PLCs subsidiary Barclays Life Assurance Company Ltd. In 2009, Warren Buffett invested $2.6 billion as a part of Swiss Res raising equity capital Berkshire Hathaway already owns a 3% stake, in June 2014, the company through Admin Re acquired the UK pensions business of HSBC Life Limited worth £4.2 billion. In May 2016, the Fort McMurray Canadian wildfires caused estimated damages of up to 10 billion CAD with Swiss Re having the most exposure among reinsurers, Corporate Solutions, Corporate Solutions offers insurance to mid-sized and multinational corporations across the globe. Offerings range from standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programmes to highly customised solutions, Corporate Solutions has over 40 offices worldwide. Admin Re solutions aims to help clients to divest non-core blocks of business, thus reducing administrative costs, Swiss Res leadership consists of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and the Group Management Board. Eric Smith, CEO Swiss Re Americas, John R. Dacey, Group Chief Strategy Officer and Chairman Admin Re®, the group has offices in over 25 countries. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Swiss Re has offices located in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In Asia, the group has offices in the countries, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates. There are also offices in the Americas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Swiss Re is headquartered in Zurich where the parent company’s main premises has stood on the shores of Lake Zurich since 1864
21.
NASCAR
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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is an American family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto-racing sports events. Bill France Sr. founded the company in 1948 and his grandson Brian France became its CEO in 2003, NASCAR is motorsports preeminent stock-car racing organization. The three largest racing-series sanctioned by this company are the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, the company also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, the Whelen All-American Series, and the NASCAR iRacing. com Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 of the 50 US states as well as in Canada. NASCAR has presented exhibition races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, NASCAR has its official headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, and also maintains offices in the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Concord, and Conover. Regional offices are located in New York City and Los Angeles, with offices in Mexico City. Owing to NASCARs Southern roots, all but a handful of NASCAR teams are based in North Carolina. NASCAR is second to the National Football League among professional sports franchises in terms of television viewers, internationally, its races are broadcast on television in over 150 countries. In 2004, NASCARs Director of Security stated that the company holds 17 of the Top 20 regularly attended single-day sporting events in the world, fortune 500 companies sponsor NASCAR more than any other motor sport, although this sponsorship has declined since the early-2000s. By the time the Bonneville Salt Flats became the location for pursuit of land speed records. Drivers raced on a 4. 1-mile course, consisting of a 1. 5–2. 0-mile stretch of beach as one straightaway, the two straights were connected by two tight, deeply rutted and sand covered turns at each end. Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition, bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity, the cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced, mechanic William France Sr. moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, D. C. in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He was familiar with the history of the area from the speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth and he took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II, France had the notion that people would enjoy watching stock cars race
22.
Aon (company)
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Aon has approximately 500 offices worldwide, serving 120 countries with 72,000 employees. In 2011, Aon was ranked as the largest insurance broker in the based on revenue. Aon was the partner and global shirt sponsor of the Premier League team Manchester United F. C. from 2010 until 2014. Aon was created in 1982 when the Ryan Insurance Group merged with the Combined Insurance Company of America, in 1987, that company was renamed Aon, a Gaelic word meaning. In January 2012, Aon announced that its headquarters would be moved to London, Aon is a global professional services firm that advises clients on the topics of risk and human resources. The company is a provider of management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human resource solutions. Aon is divided into three units that each specialize in a particular line of business. The firms risk management business, Aon Risk Solutions provides retail property/casualty, liability and its reinsurance business, Aon Benfield, specializes in reinsurance brokerage and investment banking & capital advisory. The firms human resource solutions business, Aon Hewitt, provides consulting and outsourcing services to clients, W. Clement Stones mother bought a small Detroit insurance agency, and in 1918 brought her son into the business. Mr. Stone sold low-cost, low-benefit accident insurance, underwriting and issuing policies on-site, the next year he founded his own agency, the Combined Registry Co. As the Great Depression began, Stone reduced his workforce and improved training, forced by his sons respiratory illness to winter in the South, Stone moved to Arkansas and Texas. In 1939 he bought American Casualty Insurance Co. of Dallas, Texas and it was consolidated with other purchases as the Combined Insurance Co. of America in 1947. The company continued through the 1950s and 1960s, continuing to sell health, in the 1970s, Combined expanded overseas despite being hit hard by the recession. Ryan, the son of a Ford dealer in Wisconsin, had started his company as a credit insurer in 1964. In 1976, the company bought the insurance brokerage units of the Esmark conglomerate, Ryan focused on insurance brokering and added more upscale insurance products. He also trimmed staff and took other cost-cutting measures, and in 1987 he changed Combineds name to Aon, in 1992, he bought Dutch insurance broker Hudig-Langeveldt. In 1995, the company sold its remaining direct life insurance holdings to General Electric to focus on consulting, the following year, it began offering hostile takeover insurance policies to small and mid-sized companies. Aon built a presence through purchases
23.
Safeco
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Safeco Insurance, a member of Liberty Mutual Group, is a national U. S. insurance company. It holds naming rights to the Seattle Mariners baseball stadium, Safeco Field, Safeco was founded in Seattle, Washington, in 1923 by Hawthorne K. Dent as the General Insurance Company of America, a property and casualty insurer. This name is used by Safeco on some of its insurance products. Thirty years later the company founded the Selective Auto and Fire Ensurance Company of America, General Insurances first headquarters were in downtown Seattle at the corner of University Street and Fourth Avenue. In 1936, it moved to the eight-story Brooklyn Building at the corner of N. E. 45th Street, General Insurance began to sell life insurance in 1957. Eleven years later the name changed from the General Insurance Company of America to Safeco Corporation. Around the same time the company began to offer mutual funds, Safeco replaced the Brooklyn Building with the 22-story Safeco Plaza building in 1973. It remains the tallest building in the city outside Downtown, in 1997, Safeco bought American States Financial Corporation to expand beyond the West Coast. Washington Mutuals WM Life Insurance Company was purchased the same year, two years later Safeco bought R. F. In 2001, new management was brought in to restructure the company, and White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. incorporating as Symetra Financial Corporation. The same day, it was announced that Hub International Ltd. was buying Safecos insurance brokerage operations, on August 2, the closure of Safeco Asset Management, the mutual-fund business, was announced. On January 19,2006, it was announced that Microsoft would purchase the Redmond campus for $209.5 million, plans were announced for a new 125 feet office tower across the street from Safeco Plaza to house the approximately 1,300 Redmond employees. However, McGavick subsequently stepped down as CEO to run for the U. S. Senate, employees were told they would be moved to leased space in downtown Seattle. Some speculated this signalled the imminent sale of the company, although Safeco denied this, Safeco moved back downtown in 2007, its new headquarters at 1001 Fourth Avenue became the new Safeco Plaza, and the old Safeco Plaza was renamed University of Washington Plaza. On April 23,2008, Safeco announced an agreement to be acquired by Liberty Mutual for $68.25 per share and this move was hailed by members of the local arts community as being a significant and rare gift. Official site Historical Annual Reports for Safeco
24.
MetLife
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MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, the firm was founded on March 24,1868. The company went public in 2000, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia’s Pacific region, Europe, and the Middle East. MetLife serves 90 of the largest Fortune 500 companies, in January 2016, the company announced that it would spin off U. S. Retail business, including life insurance and annuities for the retail market. They will maintain the MetLife name on MetLife Stadium, on March 6,2017, the separated U. S. Retail business launched Brighthouse Financial – an independent company focused on life insurance, as of 2010, the company was organized into five segments, Insurance Products, Retirement Products, the US Business, and International. The Insurance Products division was the largest unit, accounting for 53% of 2009 revenue, by 2015, a division referred to as Americas had emerged. As of 2011, MetLifes chief executive officer was Steve Kandarian, Kandarian also served as the companys chairman of the board and president as of 2015. Hired in 2013, John Hele served as chief officer for the company as of 2015. In 2015, MetLife hired Hugh Dineen to fill the new role of chief marketing officer within the US Business Unit, safeguard Health Enterprises, Inc. and Tower Square Securities, Inc. MetLife Bank was sold to GE Capital in 2013, and MetLife exited the banking business, the predecessor company to MetLife began in 1863 when a group of New York City businessmen raised $100,000 to found the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company. The company insured Civil War sailors and soldiers against disabilities due to wounds, accidents. On March 24,1868, it known as Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. A severe business depression that began with the Panic of 1873 forced the company to contract, by 1880, sales had exceeded a quarter million of such policies, resulting in nearly $1 million in revenue from premiums. In 1909, MetLife had become the nation’s largest life insurer in the United States, in 1907, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company tower was commissioned to serve as MetLife’s 23rd Street headquarters in Lower Manhattan. Completed two years later, the building was the worlds tallest until 1913 and remained the headquarters until 2005. For many years, an illustration of the building featured prominently in MetLife’s advertising, by 1930, MetLife insured every fifth man, woman, and child in the United States and Canada
25.
Centre Square (building)
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Centre Square is an office complex in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The complex consists of two concrete towers, the 417 feet Centre Square I and the 490 feet Centre Square II — respectively. Designed by Vincent Kling & Associates in the 1960s, Centre Square opened in 1973, the complex is credited with shifting Philadelphias downtown office district from South Broad Street to West Market Street. A tenant since 1975, management consulting firm Towers Perrin is Centre Squares largest tenant, the complex is best known for Claes Oldenburgs sculpture, Clothespin, in the plaza in front of the building. The works helped Philadelphia gain a reputation for promoting public art, in the 1960s, Wolgin began development of a two-tower high-rise complex in the West Market Street neighborhood of Philadelphia. Existing structures at the site were demolished in 1969 after the city condemned the structures using eminent domain, with the project over budget, Centre Square was redesigned just before construction was scheduled to begin. Originally intended to be two high rises, the redesign used concrete instead. Unlike similar projects in the city, the complex was constructed all at once. The US$80-million Centre Square opened in 1973 with First Pennsylvania Bank as the lead tenant, Centre Square is credited with shifting Philadelphias downtown office district from South Broad Street to West Market Street. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company had a stake in the complex ever since Centre Square was constructed. Wolgin sold his stake in the complex in the early 1980s, in 2002 MetLife put the property up for sale, and in October of that year HRPT Properties Trust bought Centre Square for US$183.5 million plus closing costs. With the acquisition of Centre Square, HRPT Properties Trust began an improvement, improvements included modernization of its elevator, air conditioning, and safety systems. Architectural firm Daroff Design Inc. s plans included cleaning the structures and a redesign of parts of the atrium and the plaza in front of the building. Consisting of two concrete high-rise towers connected by an atrium, the 1,800, 000-square-foot Centre Square is located on Market Street between 15th and 16th Streets in Center City. Located just across 15th Street west of Philadelphia City Hall, Centre Square was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates, the complex was one of several buildings designed by Kling that surround City Hall. These buildings, including the Municipal Services Building and One Meridian Plaza, are nicknamed the The Klingdom. The smaller of the two towers, the 32-story east tower or Centre Square I is 417 feet tall, the 40-story west tower, Centre Square II, located at the corner of Market and 16th Streets, stands 490 feet tall. The two are the 24th- and 15th-tallest buildings in Philadelphia, respectively, the four-story atrium connecting the two high rises is topped by a domed skylight and the floors are connected by a triangular elevator
26.
Center City, Philadelphia
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Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the former City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation,1854 which extended the city borders to be coterminous with Philadelphia County. Greater Center City has grown into the second-most populated downtown area in the United States, after Midtown Manhattan in New York City, with an estimated 183,240 residents in 2015. Center City is bounded by South Street to the south, the Delaware River to the east, the Schuylkill River to the west and this means that Center City occupies the boundaries of the city before it was made coterminous with Philadelphia County in 1854. The Center City District, which has special powers of taxation, uses a complicated, irregularly shaped boundary that includes much but not all of this area, the Philadelphia Police Department patrols three districts located within Center City. The three patrol districts serving Center City are the 6th, 9th, and 17th districts, in March 1987, One Liberty Place broke the gentlemens agreement not to exceed the height of the statue of William Penn atop City Hall. Since the completion of One Liberty Place, no Philadelphia major-league sports team had won a championship for the next two decades, a phenomenon known as the Curse of Billy Penn. In an effort to reverse the curse, a 3-foot statue of Penn was affixed to the top of the Comcast Center upon its completion as the new tallest building in 2007. The Comcast Center, which was completed in 2007, is now the tallest building in Pennsylvania,30 feet taller than One Liberty Place, Two buildings now under construction —1441 Chestnut and the Comcast Technology Center — are also slated to be taller than City Hall. The latter would be the eighth-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the first publicly accessible vantage point higher than City Hall opened at One Liberty Observation Deck on the 57th floor of One Liberty Place in 2015. While Philadelphias population declined, Center Citys rose 10% between 1990 and 2000, in 2007, the city designated the area bound by 11th Street, Broad Street, Chestnut Street and Pine Street as the Gayborhood. Chinatown Fitler Square French Quarter Logan Square Market East Old City Rittenhouse Square Society Hill Washington Square West Sunoco has its headquarters in the BNY Mellon Center, cigna has its corporate headquarters in Two Liberty Place. Aramark is headquartered in Center City, Comcast is headquartered in the Comcast Center. The law firm Cozen OConnor has its headquarters in Center City, kogan Page has its United States offices in Center City. Lincoln National Corporation moved its headquarters from Indiana to Philadelphia in 1999, in Philadelphia Lincoln was headquartered in the West Tower of Centre Square in Center City. In 2007 the company moved 400 employees, including its top executives, the Philadelphia Fire Department operates 5 Fire Stations in the Center City area, Ladder 5, Medic 35, Battalion 1 -711 S. Broad St. Snorkel 2, Medic 44B, Battalion 4, Field Comm. Unit 1 -101 N. 4th St. Engine 11, Medic 21 -601 South St. Pipeline 20, Ladder 23, Medic 1 -133 N. 10th St. Squirt 43, Ladder 9, Medic 7 -2108 Market St
27.
2000 Rugby League World Cup
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The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was held during October and November of that year in Great Britain, Ireland and France. Sixteen national teams competed in four groups of four, playing each other once over three rounds before a series of play-offs that culminated in the final between Australia and New Zealand. Tournament favourites Australia defeated New Zealand in the final, claiming their sixth consecutive, australian winger Wendell Sailor was named player of the tournament. Building on the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, it was decided to expand the format further, as before, an Emerging Nations Tournament was held alongside the main event. The millennium World Cup attracted a sponsorship of over £1 million from Lincoln Financial Group. The 2000 World Cup was not considered a great success, there were too many mismatches in the early stages, and some of the teams lacked credibility. The tournaments organisers also attracted criticism regarding marketing and ticketing, for these reasons crowds at the tournament were low, also torrential rainstorms and the crisis on Britains railways following the Hatfield rail crash did not help encourage spectators. The much-derided Lebanon team also proved the catalyst for domestic competition in that country, on the competition side of things, favourites Australia and New Zealand cut a swathe through the tournament, with several dominant performances setting up an obvious final clash. However, it was Australia who prevailed in a tense, absorbing finale, Australia only led 18–12 with 15 minutes remaining, but a glut of possession saw them finish strongly – scoring four late tries to give the appearance of an easy victory. Six countries – Lebanon, the United States, Morocco, Canada, Italy, in the final play-off match the United States lost 62–8 to Lebanon, who were through to their first World Cup. The Twickenham Stadium in London, the home of the English rugby union was the host stadium for the ceremony and match featuring hosts England. This was the first rugby match to be played at Twickenham Stadium. Australians Ben Kennedy, Trent Barrett and Nathan Hindmarsh were selected to make their Kangaroo debuts in this match, Substitutes, Scott Hill, Jason Croker, Robbie Kearns, Shane Webcke. Coach, Chris Anderson Tries, Rogers 4, Kennedy 2, Barrett, Hindmarsh, MacDougall, Girdler 2, Substitutes, Joe Vagana, Robbie Paul, Rua, Cayless. Substitutes, Ian Watson, Wes Davies, Paul Highton, Garreth Carvell, Substitutes, Andersson, Lewis, Tere Glassie, Cook. Substitutes, El Khalouki, Carrasco, Sands, Despin, Substitutes, mother, Alex Krewanty, Norman, Mondo. This was the first match of a double-header in Paris for the opening round and this match formed the second part of the opening round double-header in Paris. Substitutes, David Fisiiahi, Manu, Nelson Lomi, Kite, coach, Paul Matete Before the match a statue honouring French rugby league legend, Puig Aubert was unveiled by the French Rugby League Federation at the stadium
28.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
29.
Fortune 500
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The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks 500 of the largest U. S. corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes public companies, along with privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available, the concept of the Fortune 500 was created by Edgar P. Smith, a Fortune editor, and the first list was published in 1955. The Fortune 500 is more used than its subset Fortune 100 or wider list Fortune 1000. The original Fortune 500 was limited to companies whose revenues were derived from manufacturing, mining, at the same time, Fortune published companion Fortune 50 lists of the 50 largest commercial banks, utilities, life insurance companies, retailers and transportation companies. Fortune magazine changed its methodology in 1994 to include service companies, with the change came 291 new entrants to the famous list including three in the Top 10. The Fortune 500 was first published in 1955, created by Edgar P. Smith, the original top ten companies were General Motors, Exxon Mobil, U. S. Steel, General Electric, Esmark, Chrysler, Armour, Gulf Oil, Mobil and DuPont
30.
Greensboro, North Carolina
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Greensboro is a city in the U. S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the county seat and largest city in Guilford County, as of the 2010 census, the city population was 269,666, and in 2015 the estimated population was 285,342. Three major interstate highways in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina were built to intersect at this city, in 1808, Greensborough was planned around a central courthouse square to succeed Guilford Court House as the county seat. In 2003, the previous Greensboro – Winston-Salem – High Point metropolitan statistical area was re-defined by the U. S. Office of Management and this region was separated into the Greensboro-High Point MSA and the Winston-Salem MSA. The 2010 population for the Greensboro-High Point MSA was 723,801, the combined statistical area of Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, popularly referred to as the Piedmont Triad, had a population of 1,599,477. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Greensboro were a Siouan-speaking people called the Saura, other indigenous cultures had occupied this area for thousands of years, typically settling along the waterways, as did the early settlers. Quaker migrants from Pennsylvania, by way of Maryland, arrived at Capefair in about 1750, the new settlers began organized religious services affiliated with the Cane Creek Friends Meeting in Snow Camp in 1751. Three years later,40 Quaker families were granted approval to establish New Garden Monthly Meeting, the settlement grew rapidly during the next three years, adding members from as far away as Nantucket in Massachusetts. It soon became the most important Quaker community in North Carolina and mother of several other Quaker meetings that were established in the state and west of the Appalachians. After the Revolutionary War, the city of Greensboro was named for Major General Nathanael Greene, although the Americans lost the battle, Greenes forces inflicted heavy casualties on the British Army of General Cornwallis. Following this battle, Cornwallis withdrew his troops to a British coastal base in Wilmington, Greensboro was established near the geographic center of Guilford County, on land that was an unbroken forest with thick undergrowth of huckleberry bushes, that bore a finely flavored fruit. Property for the village was purchased from the Saura for $98. Three north-south streets were laid out intersecting with three east-west streets, the courthouse was built at the center of the intersection of Elm and Market streets. By 1821, the town was home to 369 residents, stimulated by rail traffic and improved access to markets, the city grew substantially, soon becoming known as the Gate City due to its role as a transportation hub for the Piedmont. The railroads transported goods to and from the textile mills. Many of the manufacturers developed workers housing in mill villages near their facilities, Textile companies and related businesses continued into the 21st century, when most went bankrupt, reorganized, and/or merged with other companies as textile manufacturing jobs moved offshore. Greensboro is still a center of the textile industry, with the main offices of International Textile Group, Galey & Lord, Unifi. ITG Brands, maker of Kool, Winston and Salem brand cigarettes, is the third largest tobacco company in the United States and is headquartered in Greensboro, rail traffic continues to be important for the citys economy, as Greensboro is a major regional freight hub
31.
Miami, Florida
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Miami is a seaport city at the southeastern corner of the U. S. state of Florida and its Atlantic coast. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, Miamis metro area is the eighth-most populous, Miami is a major center, and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2012, Miami was classified as an Alpha−World City in the World Cities Study Groups inventory, in 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked 33rd among global cities, in 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami Americas Cleanest City, for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets, and citywide recycling programs. According to a 2009 UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, Miami is nicknamed the Capital of Latin America and is the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality. Miami has the third tallest skyline in the U. S. with over 300 high-rises, Downtown Miami is home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, and many large national and international companies. The Civic Center is a center for hospitals, research institutes, medical centers. For more than two decades, the Port of Miami, known as the Cruise Capital of the World, has been the number one cruise port in the world. It accommodates some of the worlds largest cruise ships and operations, Metropolitan Miami is the major tourism hub in the American South, number two in the U. S. after New York City and number 13 in the world, including the popular destination of Miami Beach. The Miami area was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Native American tribes, the Tequestas occupied the area for a thousand years before encountering Europeans. An Indian village of hundreds of people dating to 500–600 B. C. was located at the mouth of the Miami River, in 1566 the explorer, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, claimed it for Spain. A Spanish mission was constructed one year later in 1567, Spain and Great Britain successively controlled Florida, and Spain ceded it to the United States in 1821. In 1836, the US built Fort Dallas as part of its development of the Florida Territory and attempt to suppress, the Miami area subsequently became a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War. Miami is noted as the major city in the United States conceived by a woman, Julia Tuttle, a local citrus grower. The Miami area was known as Biscayne Bay Country in the early years of its growth. In the late 19th century, reports described the area as a promising wilderness, the area was also characterized as one of the finest building sites in Florida. The Great Freeze of 1894–95 hastened Miamis growth, as the crops of the Miami area were the ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railway to the region
32.
San Diego
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San Diego is a major city in California, United States. It is in San Diego County, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, approximately 120 miles south of Los Angeles and immediately adjacent to the border with Mexico. With an estimated population of 1,394,928 as of July 1,2015, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder agglomeration between the US and a country after Detroit–Windsor, with a population of 4,922,723 people. San Diego has been called the birthplace of California, historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, the Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of the newly independent Mexico, in 1850, California became part of the United States following the Mexican–American War and the admission of California to the union. The city is the seat of San Diego County and is the center of the region as well as the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. San Diegos main economic engines are military and defense-related activities, tourism, international trade, the presence of the University of California, San Diego, with the affiliated UCSD Medical Center, has helped make the area a center of research in biotechnology. The original inhabitants of the region are now known as the San Dieguito, the area of San Diego has been inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The first European to visit the region was Portuguese-born explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailing under the flag of Castile, sailing his flagship San Salvador from Navidad, New Spain, Cabrillo claimed the bay for the Spanish Empire in 1542, and named the site San Miguel. In November 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno was sent to map the California coast, in May 1769, Gaspar de Portolà established the Fort Presidio of San Diego on a hill near the San Diego River. It was the first settlement by Europeans in what is now the state of California, in July of the same year, Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by Franciscan friars under Junípero Serra. By 1797, the mission boasted the largest native population in Alta California, with over 1,400 neophytes living in, Mission San Diego was the southern anchor in California of the historic mission trail El Camino Real. Both the Presidio and the Mission are National Historic Landmarks, in 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain, and San Diego became part of the Mexican territory of Alta California. In 1822, Mexico began attempting to extend its authority over the territory of Alta California. The fort on Presidio Hill was gradually abandoned, while the town of San Diego grew up on the land below Presidio Hill. The Mission was secularized by the Mexican government in 1833, the 432 residents of the town petitioned the governor to form a pueblo, and Juan María Osuna was elected the first alcalde, defeating Pío Pico in the vote
33.
Denver
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Denver, officially the City and County of Denver, is the capital and most populous municipality of the U. S. state of Colorado. Denver is in the South Platte River Valley on the edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level, making it the highest major city in the United States. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the reference for the Mountain Time Zone. Denver is ranked as a Beta- world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. With a 2015 estimated population of 682,545, Denver ranks as the 19th-most populous U. S. city, and with a 2. 8% increase in 2015, the city is also the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The 10-county Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 2,814,330 and ranked as the 19th most populous U. S. metropolitan statistical area. The 12-city Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 3,418,876, which ranks as the 16th most populous U. S. metropolitan area. Denver is the most populous city of the 18-county Front Range Urban Corridor, Denver is the most populous city within a 500-mile radius and the second-most populous city in the Mountain West after Phoenix, Arizona. In 2016, Denver was named the best place to live in the USA by U. S. News & World Report and this was the first historical settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and by the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria, Larimer named the townsite Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver. Larimer hoped the name would help make it the county seat of Arapaho County but, unbeknownst to him. The location was accessible to existing trails and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne, the site of these first towns is now the site of Confluence Park near downtown Denver. Larimer, along with associates in the St. Charles City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, Denver City was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In the early years, land parcels were often traded for grubstakes or gambled away by miners in Auraria, in May 1859, Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth & Pikes Peak Express in order to secure the regions first overland wagon route. Offering daily service for passengers, mail, freight, and gold, in 1863, Western Union furthered Denvers dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus. The Colorado Territory was created on February 28,1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1,1861, Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902. In 1867, Denver City became the territorial capital, with its newfound importance, Denver City shortened its name to Denver
34.
Atlanta, Georgia
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Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U. S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2015 population of 463,878. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,710,795 people, Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce. Atlantas economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include logistics, professional and business services, media operations, Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage. Revitalization of Atlantas neighborhoods, initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, has intensified in the 21st century, altering the demographics, politics. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek Indians inhabited the area, standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta. As part of the removal of Native Americans from northern Georgia from 1802 to 1825, the Creek ceded the area in 1821. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western, the initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would then be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the zero milepost was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points. A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later as Thrasherville after a merchant who built homes. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor the Governors daughter, later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29,1847, by 1860, Atlantas population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a hub for the distribution of military supplies, in 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, on November 11,1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Armys March to the Sea by ordering Atlanta to be burned to the ground, sparing only the citys churches and hospitals. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt, due to the citys superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta surpassed Savannah as Georgias largest city, by 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology and the citys black colleges had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, during the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades time, Atlantas population tripled as the city expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs
35.
WBTV
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WBTV, virtual channel 3, is a CBS-affiliated television station located in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. WBTV is one of two stations of owner Raycom Media. The station maintains studio facilities located off Morehead Street, just west of Uptown Charlotte, on cable, WBTV is carried on most immediate Charlotte area cable systems on channels 2 and 1209, on Comporium Communications channel 5, and on AT&T U-Verse channels 3 and 1003. The station first signed on the air on July 15,1949, when it debuted, WBTV was the 13th television station in the United States and the first in the Carolinas, it is currently the oldest television station located between Richmond and Atlanta. Veteran Charlotte broadcaster Jim Patterson was the first person seen on the station, Jefferson Standard had purchased WBT from CBS in 1947. Shortly before the station went on the air, its call letters were modified from WBT-TV to WBTV. Jefferson Standard merged with Pilot Life in 1968 and became Jefferson-Pilot Corporation, in 1970, the media interests were folded into a new subsidiary, Jefferson-Pilot Communications. As such, it was Charlottes only VHF station for eight years, carrying affiliations with all four networks of the time – CBS, NBC, ABC. However, WBTV has always been a primary CBS affiliate, owing to WBT radios long affiliation with the CBS Radio Network and it is the only commercial television station in the market that has never changed its primary affiliation. Channel 3 had originally operated from a radio studio in the Wilder Building. In 1955, WBT and WBTV moved to a then state-of-the-art facility on a hill atop Morehead Street, the studio address, One Julian Price Place, is named in honor of a longtime Jefferson Standard/Jefferson-Pilot executive. WBTVs only competition in its early years came from a UHF station on channel 36, known as WAYS-TV and then WQMC-TV and it was nominally an NBC affiliate, sharing a secondary ABC affiliation with channel 3. However, channel 36s signal was weak, and NBC continued to allow WBTV to cherry-pick its stronger programming. Channel 36 went dark in March 1955, and DuMont shut down roughly a year later in August 1956, channel 36 returned to the air in November 1964 as WCCB, carrying certain CBS programs that WBTV turned down in order to carry ABC programs. ABC programming continued to be split among the three stations until 1967, when WCCB became a full-time ABC affiliate, from 1958 to 1974, WBTVs studio facilities served as the home for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling telecasts. When WAGA-TV in Atlanta, which signed on the air four months before WBTV, switched to Fox in December 1994, WBTV became the longest-tenured CBS affiliate located south of Washington, D. C. WFMY-TV in Greensboro, the second-oldest station in the Carolinas, is the networks second-longest tenured affiliate south of the capital, over the years, Jefferson Standard/Jefferson-Pilot acquired several other radio and television stations across the country, with WBTV serving as the companys flagship station. In 2006, Jefferson-Pilot merged with the Philadelphia-based Lincoln National Corporation, Lincoln Financial retained Jefferson-Pilots broadcasting division, which was renamed Lincoln Financial Media, with WBTV retaining its status as the flagship station
36.
CBS
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CBS is an American commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of CBS Corporation. The company is headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City with major facilities and operations in New York City. CBS is sometimes referred to as the Eye Network, in reference to the iconic logo. It has also called the Tiffany Network, alluding to the perceived high quality of CBS programming during the tenure of William S. Paley. It can also refer to some of CBSs first demonstrations of color television, the network has its origins in United Independent Broadcasters Inc. a collection of 16 radio stations that was purchased by Paley in 1928 and renamed the Columbia Broadcasting System. Under Paleys guidance, CBS would first become one of the largest radio networks in the United States, in 1974, CBS dropped its former full name and became known simply as CBS, Inc. In 2000, CBS came under the control of Viacom, which was formed as a spin-off of CBS in 1971, CBS Corporation is controlled by Sumner Redstone through National Amusements, which also controls the current Viacom. The television network has more than 240 owned-and-operated and affiliated stations throughout the United States. The origins of CBS date back to January 27,1927, Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18,1927, with a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from flagship station WOR in Newark, New Jersey, and fifteen affiliates. Operational costs were steep, particularly the payments to AT&T for use of its land lines, in early 1928 Judson sold the network to brothers Isaac and Leon Levy, owners of the networks Philadelphia affiliate WCAU, and their partner Jerome Louchenheim. With the record out of the picture, Paley quickly streamlined the corporate name to Columbia Broadcasting System. He believed in the power of advertising since his familys La Palina cigars had doubled their sales after young William convinced his elders to advertise on radio. By September 1928, Paley bought out the Louchenheim share of CBS, during Louchenheims brief regime, Columbia paid $410,000 to A. H. Grebes Atlantic Broadcasting Company for a small Brooklyn station, WABC, which would become the networks flagship station. WABC was quickly upgraded, and the relocated to 860 kHz. The physical plant was relocated also – to Steinway Hall on West 57th Street in Manhattan, by the turn of 1929, the network could boast to sponsors of having 47 affiliates. Paley moved right away to put his network on a financial footing. In the fall of 1928, he entered talks with Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures. The deal came to fruition in September 1929, Paramount acquired 49% of CBS in return for a block of its stock worth $3.8 million at the time
37.
WCSC-TV
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WCSC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for South Carolinas Lowcountry area licensed to Charleston. It broadcasts a high definition signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter in Awendaw. Owned by Raycom Media, the studios are located in the West Ashley section of Charleston. The station is carried on cable channel 9 in most parts of the market, WCSC-TV began broadcasting on June 19,1953, from studios on East Bay Street in Downtown Charleston. It was the television station in South Carolina and the oldest continuously broadcasting channel in the state. It is the station in Charleston to keep its original network affiliation since sign-on. The channel aired an analog signal on VHF channel 5 and was owned by the Rivers family along with WCSC radio. Carroll Godwin hosted a daytime talk show in the 1960s. Loraine Evans hosted the childrens program The Happy Raine Show. Ken Klyce was another popular news announcer, the stations studios were located on 485 East Bay Street on the peninsula. The Rivers family sold WCSC-TV to Crump Communications of Houston, Texas in 1987 while the stations were sold to Ralph Guild of New York City. Crump kept the station until selling it to the Jefferson-Pilot Corporation in 1994, Jefferson-Pilot merged with the Lincoln Financial Group in 2006 with its broadcast properties assuming the new corporate name of Lincoln Financial Media. In 1997, the moved to newly built studios on Charlie Hall Boulevard in the West Ashley section of Charleston. The facilities were named for WCSCs longtime weatherman and one of its most popular on-air staff. Hall was the first person seen on the station when it signed on in 1953, local sports coverage has also been prominent at WCSC. In the early 1980s, Charleston Cougars games were aired on the station and it aired the Cooper River Bridge Run from 1986 until 1990 and resumed the telecasts in 2004. The broadcasts feature reporters on the course, WCSC is the local outlet for Atlantic Coast Conference basketball and Southeastern Conference football which have been produced by its parent company since the 1980s. In 2004, Jefferson-Pilot management effectively forced out Warren Peper by offering him only an extension of his contract with no renewal option
38.
Charleston, South Carolina
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Charleston had an estimated population of 132,609 in 2015. Charleston was founded as Charles Town—honoring King Charles II of England—in 1670 and its initial location at Albemarle Point on the west bank of the Ashley River was abandoned in 1680 for its present site, which became the 5th-largest city in North America within 10 years. Despite its size, it remained unincorporated throughout the period, its government was handled directly by the state legislature and by its Anglican parish wardens. It adopted its present spelling with its incorporation as a city in 1783 at the close of the Revolutionary War. The Confederates burned the town prior to its evacuation but continued demand for the cotton and rice, along with growing industry. In 2016, Charleston was ranked the Worlds Best City by Travel + Leisure, the city proper consists of six distinct areas, the Peninsula or Downtown, West Ashley, Johns Island, James Island, Daniel Island, and the Cainhoy Peninsula. The old town fit into 4–5 square miles as late as the First World War, the city limits also have expanded across the Cooper River, encompassing Daniel Island and the Cainhoy area. The present city has an area of 127.5 square miles. North Charleston blocks any expansion up the peninsula, and Mount Pleasant occupies the land directly east of the Cooper River, Charleston Harbor runs about 7 miles southeast to the Atlantic with an average width of about 2 miles, surrounded on all sides except its entrance. Sullivans Island lies to the north of the entrance and Morris Island to itself south, the entrance itself is about 1 mile wide, it was originally only 18 feet deep, but began to be enlarged in the 1870s. The tidal rivers are evidence of a submergent or drowned coastline, there is a submerged river delta off the mouth of the harbor and the Cooper River is deep. Charleston has a subtropical climate, with mild winters, hot, humid summers. Summer is the wettest season, almost half of the rainfall occurs from June to September in the form of thundershowers. Fall remains relatively warm through November, winter is short and mild, and is characterized by occasional rain. Measurable snow only occurs several times per decade at the most, however,6.0 in fell at the airport on December 23,1989, the largest single-day fall on record, contributing to a single-storm and seasonal record of 8.0 in snowfall. The highest temperature recorded within city limits was 104 °F on June 2,1985, and June 24,1944, and the lowest was 7 °F on February 14,1899. At the airport, where records are kept, the historical range is 105 °F on August 1,1999. Hurricanes are a threat to the area during the summer and early fall
39.
WWBT
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WWBT is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Richmond, Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter at its studios on Midlothian Turnpike in the city. Owned by Raycom Media, the station operates CW affiliate WUPV through a shared services agreement, the station is one of only a few in the country to have been affiliated with all three of the original major American television networks. In the 1950s, there was competition for the third television frequency. WTVR-TV had been on-the-air since 1948 while WXEX-TV had been on-the-air from Petersburg since 1955, the main competitors for the analog VHF channel 12 license were Larus and Brothers Tobacco Company, owner of WRVA and WRVB-FM and Richmond Newspapers, owner of WRNL and forerunner of Media General. Larus later merged its application with Neighborhood Theaters Richmond Television Corporation, both applicants had good records and were financially qualified, but RTVC won the license since it did not own a newspaper. At the time, the Federal Communications Commission was concerned about co-ownership of newspaper and broadcast outlets, WRVA-TV signed-on for the first time on April 29,1956 from a converted cow barn near the stations current facility. The studio and transmitter were located in what was then unincorporated Chesterfield County and it was initially a CBS affiliate due to WRVAs long affiliation with CBS Radio. That station was one of the powerhouses of the South. For instance, WRVA radios top anchorman took the role with channel 12. Part of the problem was that the goal of covering all of Central Virginia resulted in a signal in Richmond itself. With channel 12 remaining stubbornly in third place, CBS opted to return to long-dominant WTVR in 1960, since WXEX was already affiliated with NBC, WRVA was left with struggling ABC. Ratings improved in the five years leading Larus to try to seek the NBC affiliation. From 1959 until 1969, it broadcast a childrens series. In 1966, the family-owned Larus and Brothers decided to split its various interests after longtime president William T. Reed died, Jefferson Standard Insurance Company of Greensboro, North Carolina emerged as the winner for WRVA-TV. It would have bought the stations as well, but at the time. As part of the application, Jefferson Standard requested a call change to the current WWBT. The new owners went to work overhauling the stations look
40.
NBC
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The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is the flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is part of the Big Three television networks, founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. Following the acquisition by GE, Bob Wright served as executive officer of NBC, remaining in that position until his retirement in 2007. In 2003, French media company Vivendi merged its entertainment assets with GE, Comcast purchased a controlling interest in the company in 2011, and acquired General Electrics remaining stake in 2013. Following the Comcast merger, Zucker left NBC Universal and was replaced as CEO by Comcast executive Steve Burke, during a period of early broadcast business consolidation, radio manufacturer Radio Corporation of America acquired New York City radio station WEAF from American Telephone & Telegraph. Westinghouse, a shareholder in RCA, had an outlet in Newark, New Jersey pioneer station WJZ. This station was transferred from Westinghouse to RCA in 1923, WEAF acted as a laboratory for AT&Ts manufacturing and supply outlet Western Electric, whose products included transmitters and antennas. The Bell System, AT&Ts telephone utility, was developing technologies to transmit voice- and music-grade audio over short and long distances, the 1922 creation of WEAF offered a research-and-development center for those activities. WEAF maintained a schedule of radio programs, including some of the first commercially sponsored programs. In an early example of chain or networking broadcasting, the station linked with Outlet Company-owned WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, AT&T refused outside companies access to its high-quality phone lines. The early effort fared poorly, since the telegraph lines were susceptible to atmospheric. In 1925, AT&T decided that WEAF and its network were incompatible with the companys primary goal of providing a telephone service. AT&T offered to sell the station to RCA in a deal that included the right to lease AT&Ts phone lines for network transmission, the divisions ownership was split among RCA, its founding corporate parent General Electric and Westinghouse. NBC officially started broadcasting on November 15,1926, WEAF and WJZ, the flagships of the two earlier networks, were operated side-by-side for about a year as part of the new NBC. On April 5,1927, NBC expanded to the West Coast with the launch of the NBC Orange Network and this was followed by the debut of the NBC Gold Network, also known as the Pacific Gold Network, on October 18,1931. The Orange Network carried Red Network programming, and the Gold Network carried programming from the Blue Network, initially, the Orange Network recreated Eastern Red Network programming for West Coast stations at KPO in San Francisco. The Orange Network name was removed from use in 1936, at the same time, the Gold Network became part of the Blue Network. In the 1930s, NBC also developed a network for shortwave radio stations, in 1927, NBC moved its operations to 711 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, occupying the upper floors of a building designed by architect Floyd Brown
41.
Richmond, Virginia
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Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond Region and it was incorporated in 1742, and has been an independent city since 1871. As of the 2010 census, the population was 204,214, in 2015, the population was estimated to be 220,289, the Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state. Richmond is located at the line of the James River,44 miles west of Williamsburg,66 miles east of Charlottesville. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is located at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest, Glen Allen to the north and west, Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast. The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609. The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737 and it became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America, the city entered the 20th century with one of the worlds first successful electric streetcar systems. The Jackson Ward neighborhood is a hub of African-American commerce. Richmonds economy is driven by law, finance, and government, with federal, state. Dominion Resources and MeadWestvaco, Fortune 500 companies, are headquartered in the city, in 1737, planter William Byrd II commissioned Major William Mayo to lay out the original town grid. The settlement was laid out in April 1737, and was incorporated as a town in 1742, Richmond recovered quickly from the war, and by 1782 was once again a thriving city. A permanent home for the new government, the Virginia State Capitol building, was designed by Thomas Jefferson with the assistance of Charles-Louis Clérisseau, after the American Revolutionary War, Richmond emerged as an important industrial center. The legacy of the canal boatmen is represented by the figure in the center of the city flag, on April 17,1861, five days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the legislature voted to secede from the United States and joined the Confederacy. Official action came in May, after the Confederacy promised to move its capital to Richmond. It became the target of Union armies, especially in the campaigns of 1862. The Seven Days Battles followed in late June and early July 1862, during which Union General McClellan threatened to take Richmond, three years later, as March 1865 ended, the Confederate capitol became indefensible. On March 25, Confederate General John B, gordons desperate attack on Fort Stedman east of Petersburg failed
42.
Raycom Media
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Raycom Media, Inc. is an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama. It is owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, an agency of the Alabama state government, in 1994, Ellis bought Raycom Sports, a 15-year-old sports marketing firm. Two years later, Ellis sold Raycom to a group funded by Retirement Systems of Alabama. The three groups merged to form Raycom Media, in 1998, Raycom merged with Malrite Communications, owner of five stations in the South and Midwest. In August 2005 it acquired the Liberty Corporation and in the process sold a dozen of its stations to Barrington Broadcasting, the merger closed at the start of 2006. As of January 1,2008, Lincoln Financial Sports was officially merged into Raycom Sports, on August 10,2015, Raycom announced that it would purchase stations owned by Drewry Communications for $160 million. The sale was completed on December 1, Raycom Media has been involved in a torrent of controversies. These issues have ranged from discrimination, nationally televised blackouts to poor working conditions, Raycom Media has had a history of numerous incidents of failing to provide its viewers television coverage during highly viewed transmissions. In 2014, Raycom’s “viewers in dozens of markets across the country couldn’t tune into the NFL season opener on NBC Thursday night” according to USA Today, in another 2014 blackout, more than 50 TV stations were shut off due Raycom Media’s inability to provide viewing. The company’s executives were accused of demanding unreasonable price hikes that could not be met. On March 16th,2017, Raycom Media failed for a time since July of 2015 “to renew their retransmission consent agreement. ”This led to viewers in 23 markets without access to television coverage. There was an outcry from viewers on Twitter following the incident, in 2014, Raycom Media had some internal violations that came to light involving terminating employee with disability. A lawsuit against Raycoms WOIO Channel 19 alleged sexually hostile work environment in its advertising department. ”Raycom has had a instances of employees being associated with traffic incidents due to strenuous working conditions. In 2015, a Raycom Media employee from the KCBD station in Lubbock “ran over a guy and then drove away. ”The lawsuit also claimed the station did not acknowledge its involvement, nor did it preserve the evidence. As a result of being struck, Hammond “sustained and suffered severe injuries to his head, arms, legs, torso, neck and back. Raycom Media’s executives “decided to settle before the lawsuit every got to court. ”In 2016, Don Logana, “an investigative reporter, Raycom Media hasnt provided any future information on preventive measures. Raycom owns a 20% stake in Frankly, a San Francisco-based social media company that owns Raycoms digital provider WorldNow, stations are arranged alphabetically by state and by city of license. Notes, – built and signed-on by Raycom Media, – owned by Aflac and Ellis Communications prior to the formation of Raycom Media in 1996
43.
Atlantic Coast Conference
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The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-five sports with many of its member institutions athletic programs held in high regard nationally. ACC teams and athletes have claimed dozens of championships in multiple sports throughout the conferences history. Generally, the ACCs top athletes and teams in any sport in a given year are considered to be among the top collegiate competitors in the nation. Also, the conference enjoys extensive media coverage, the ACC was one of the six collegiate power conferences, which had automatic qualifying for their football champion into the Bowl Championship Series. With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, the ACC is one of five conferences with a contractual tie-in to an access bowl, the additions in recent years extended the conferences footprint into the Northeast and Midwest. The most recent expansion in 2013 saw the additions of the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh, in 2012, the University of Marylands Board of Regents voted to withdraw from the ACC to join the Big Ten Conference effective July 1,2014. On November 28,2012, the ACCs Council of Presidents voted unanimously to invite the University of Louisville as a full member, replacing Maryland effective July 1,2014. Seven universities in the South Atlantic States were charter members of the ACC, Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, previously members of the Southern Conference, they left partially due to that leagues ban on post-season football play. After drafting a set of bylaws for the creation of a new league, the bylaws were ratified on June 14,1953, and the ACC was created, becoming the second conference formed by schools collectively withdrawing from the SoCon, after the Southeastern Conference. On December 4,1953, officials convened in Greensboro, North Carolina, and admitted Virginia, in 1960, the ACC implemented a minimum SAT score for incoming student-athletes of 750, the first conference to do so. This minimum was raised to 800 in 1964, but was struck down by a federal court in 1972. In 1971, South Carolina left the ACC to become an independent, the ACC operated with seven members until the addition of Georgia Tech from the Metro Conference on April 3,1978. The total number of member schools reached nine with the addition of Florida State, also formerly from the Metro Conference, on July 1,1991. The expansion was controversial, as Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia filed lawsuits against the ACC, Miami, and Boston College for conspiring to weaken the Big East Conference. The ACC Hall of Champions opened on March 2,2011, next to the Greensboro Coliseum arena, on September 17,2011, Big East Conference members Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh both tendered formal written applications to the ACC to join its ranks. The two schools were accepted into the conference the day, once again expanding the conference footprint like previous expansions. Because the Big East intended to hold Pitt and Syracuse to the 27-month notice period required by league bylaws, however, on July 16,2012, the Big East and Syracuse came to an agreement that allowed Syracuse to leave the Big East on July 1,2013. Two days later, the Big East and Pittsburgh reached an identical agreement, on September 12,2012, Notre Dame agreed to join the ACC in all sports except football and hockey as the conferences first member in the Midwestern United States
44.
Southeastern Conference
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The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the Southern part of the United States. Its fourteen members include the public universities of ten states. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I in sports competitions, for football, it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A. The SEC was also the first NCAA Division I conference to hold a game for college football and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series. The current SEC commissioner is Greg Sankey, the conference sponsors team championships in nine mens sports and twelve womens sports. The SEC consists of 14 member institutions located within the borders of 11 contiguous states and these divisional groupings are applied exclusively to football and baseball as well as their scheduling and standings. The other charter members were, The University of the South left the SEC on December 13,1940 and it is currently a member of the Division III Southern Athletic Association. Georgia Institute of Technology left the SEC in 1964, in 1975, it became a founding member of the Metro Conference, one of the predecessors to todays Conference USA. Georgia Tech competed in the Metro Conference in all sports except football, in 1978, Georgia Tech joined another Southern Conference offshoot, the Atlantic Coast Conference, for all sports, where it has remained ever since. Tulane University left the SEC in 1966, along with Georgia Tech, it was a charter member of the Metro Conference. Unlike Tech, however, Tulane remained in the Metro Conference until it merged with the Great Midwest Conference in 1995 to form Conference USA, Tulane remained an independent in football until C-USA began football competition in 1996. Tulane left C-USA in 2014 for the American Athletic Conference, in 1990, the SEC expanded from ten to twelve member universities with the addition of the Arkansas Razorbacks and the South Carolina Gamecocks. The two new members began SEC competition with the 1991–1992 basketball season, at the same time, the SEC organized competition for some sports into two divisions. Initially, the format was used in football, baseball. The divisional format was dropped for mens basketball following the 2011–2012 season, the 1992 and 1993 championship games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, and all championship games from 1994 onward have been held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. On November 6,2011 the SEC commissioner announced that the University of Missouri would also join the SEC on July 1,2012, for football, Texas A&M was scheduled to compete in the Western Division, and Missouri in the Eastern Division. Texas A&M and Missouri both left the Big 12 Conference, the office of Commissioner was created in 1940. Under the leadership of Michael F, the SECU rebranded its mission to better serve as a means through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of Southeastern Conference universities would be promoted and advanced
45.
ESPN Events
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ESPN Events is an American sporting event planning division that is owned by ESPN Inc. ESPN Inc. is a joint venture between the Disney–ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company and the Hearst Corporation, ESPN Events is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and shares its operations with ESPNU. The company was founded as Creative Sports, a sports programming syndicator that merged with Don Ohlmeyers Ohlmeyer Communications Corporation Sports in 1996, after ESPN purchased the merged company, the division was renamed ESPN Regional Television. Most of ESPNs syndicated broadcasts had been presented under the on-air name ESPN Plus, however, the brand has since been phased out from its productions in favor of conference brands, such as SEC TV and the Big 12 Network. ESPN largely exited the business by 2015, moving its conference sports broadcast to dedicated cable networks. The company traces its history to Creative Sports, Inc. a North Carolina-based sports syndicator owned and founded by Bray Cary, ESPN Inc. purchased Creative Sports, Inc. and OCC Sports, Inc. in the mid-1990s. ESPN Regional Television was formed in 1996, through ESPN Inc. s combination of Creative Sports and OCC Sports, under the direction of Chuck Gerber, on March 12,1999, ESPN Regional Television was incorporated in New York. In January 2000, Loren Matthews left ESPN Regional Television for a position at sister division ABC Sports. In 2001, ESPN Regional Television moved beyond broadcasting college football bowl games, in August 2008, ESPN Regional Television secured a 15-year broadcast rights agreement with the Southeastern Conference, assuming the conference syndication rights from Raycom Sports. In 2015, ESPN mostly exited the syndication business and integrated its remaining properties into its cable networks and into its online services, WatchESPN. ESPN Events remains active as an event organizer, Conference USA – Broadcast rights were for regular-season football games. The American Sports Network, a college sports programming syndicator. Mid-American Conference basketball – Broadcast rights were assumed by SportsTime Ohio in 2010, mountain West Conference – Broadcast rights to MWC football and basketball games are now held by CBS Sports Network and NBCSN. Big Ten Conference – Broadcast rights to Big Ten Conference football and basketball games not selected to air regionally or nationally on CBS, ESPN Plus lost the Big Ten rights to the network when it launched in August 2007. The conference rights were held by Raycom Sports, and before that Lincoln Financial Sports. Sun Belt Conference football and men’s basketball, the Sun Belt Network ceased operations in 2014. Western Athletic Conference - ESPN Plus broadcast WAC men’s and women’s basketball until 2014, ERT acquired its first bowl game in 2001, with its purchase of the Las Vagas Bowl from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The company moved into the area as it saw some of their conference partners had teams that were qualified to appear in a bowl game
46.
CBS Sports
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CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City and its premier sports properties are the NFL, Southeastern Conference football, NCAA basketball, and PGA golf, including The Masters, and the PGA Championship. The online arm of CBS Sports is CBSSports. com, CBS purchased SportsLine. com in 2004, and today CBSSports. com is part of CBS Interactive. On August 31,2013, CBS Sports rolled out its previous graphics, on November 30,2015, CBS Sports released a new logo in order to coincide with the networks coverage of Super Bowl 50. The network also created a new graphics package that debuted as part of the networks Super Bowl week programming. Following the game, the package began to be utilized across all of their programming events. The Masters, which retains heavy production control over their event, also, the networks Thursday Night Football game broadcasts will continue to use the graphical style originally used since its debut in 2014. CBS Sports Radio is a radio network that launched on September 4,2012 with hourly sports news updates. It began offering a full 24-hour schedule of talk programming on January 2,2013. CBS Sports Radio is owned and operated by CBS Radio, a division of CBS Corporation, with Cumulus Media Networks handling distribution and marketing of the network. Sports radio stations that are owned by CBS and Cumulus Media carry part of the schedule of programming. In addition to carriage on stations, CBS Sports Radio also streams its programming on the internet. ESPN ESPN2 ESPN on ABC Fox Sports Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 2 NBC Sports NBCSN CBSSports. com CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Radio CBS Corporation CBS Sports CBS Corporation CBS Interactive
$14.5 billion (Dec 2016)
