Nick Sakiewicz

The U.S. women's soccer team will play China in an exhibition May 27 at PPL Park in Chester, in preparation for the London Olympics. "We are pleased to welcome back the U.S. women's national team to PPL Park," said Nick Sakiewicz, CEO and operating partner of Keystone Sports and Entertainment. "This is the third time that we have hosted a U.S. Soccer match and we are proud to be one of the final stops for the [women] before they head off to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

When PPL Park was being built, Philadelphia Union fans imagined what it could become: a grand soccer locus that routinely hosted large crowds. That came to be. Now fans may need to envision the year-old stadium in a new way: bigger. Union officials are developing long-term plans to expand the arena, contemplating a three-phase process, the first to increase seating from 18,500 to 20,000. If all goes well, that construction could start in 2014, according to team chief executive officer Nick Sakiewicz.

The Philadelphia Union is getting hitched to Bimbo. No, the team has not signed a promiscuous, dull-witted semi-celebrity to play midfield. The soccer club is poised to announce a major sponsorship deal that will stamp the routinely mispronounced name of the giant Mexico-based baker onto the front of the team jersey. The four-year, roughly $12 million agreement with the U.S. arm of Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. represents a victory for the Union, which has labored to sign a shirt sponsor that is iconic, well-financed, and regionally based.

The Philadelphia Union, the expansion Major League Soccer club set to begin play next year, has hired John Hackworth as coach and youth development coordinator. Hackworth comes to the Union from the United States Men's National Team that recently qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa. "He [Hackworth] has proven his ability to nurture young players and that talent will be essential in our plan to develop them into successful professionals," said Union coach Peter Nowak.

The Union will host English Premier League club Everton on July 20 at PPL Park. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Everton features U.S. men's national team goalkeeper Tim Howard and Australian international Tim Cahill. Five-time FA Cup champions and winners of nine top flight league titles in England, the Blues are currently in seventh place in the Premier League, just five points behind Liverpool F.C. PPL Park is the Toffees' first stop on their United States tour. The team also visit D.C. United on July 23 at RFK Stadium.

Union president Tom Veit is exiting stage left for a new role behind the scenes. Veit is stepping down and will take over as a consultant to the team and to Union CEO and managing partner Nick Sakiewicz. Veit, who joined the team as a consultant through his Tampa, Fla.-based company, The Solutions Group, was appointed team president in April 2009. "I love Philly, but I am a Florida guy and Tampa is my home," Veit said. From Tampa, Veit will act as a liaison for the Union in upcoming and ongoing deals, most notably talks of bringing Villanova football to PPL Park, the Union's 18,500-seat facility in Chester.

Major League Soccer and the NBC Sports Group have agreed to a three-year media rights agreement that begins at the start of the 2012 MLS season. The deal calls for 45 MLS games and four U.S. men's national team contests to be televised live on both NBC and NBC Sports Network each season. NBC Sports Network is the newly named cable channel that will be rebranded from Versus on Jan. 2, 2012. Each season NBC will broadcast two regular-season MLS games, two playoff games, and two appearances by the U.S. men's national team.

The Union will host Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 on May 9 at PPL Park, the Union announced. Schalke is among the most popular teams in Germany and features stars as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, currently ranked second in the Bundesliga in scoring, Spanish legend Raul and U.S. national team midfielder Jermaine Jones. The team is in third place in the Bundesliga and is just one win away from a top four finish and a spot in the Champions League next season. "Over the last two years we have hosted top English, Mexican, Spanish and Scottish clubs to play the Union," said Nick Sakiewicz, Union CEO and operating partner.

As the Union's chief executive officer and operating partner, Nick Sakiewicz gets to pull rank, which might explain why he will be in the starting lineup for Friday's inaugural River Cup Challenge, 6:30 p.m. at PPL Park. This unique event will pit the Union management in a benefit soccer game against the Sons of Ben supporters club. To the victor goes the coveted River Cup. But as Sakiewicz points out, the true winner will be Chester United, a soccer club the Union started for the youth of Chester, which has approximately 600 members.

They all had a story - a reason why they were involved. When PPL Park hosts the inaugural Fall Brawl for a Cure college lacrosse tournament in October, it will be for more than just pride for the four teams involved. To them, it's another major step in efforts to eradicate cancer. Villanova, Stony Brook, Loyola (Md.) and Siena College will highlight an all-day tournament benefiting the American Cancer Society on Saturday, Oct. 22. Youth games will be played on adjacent fields set up around the stadium starting at 9 a.m., before the pairing of Stony Brook and Loyola at 3 p.m., followed by Siena and Villanova, currently ranked eighth in the nation.

The Business page would not be my first choice to learn about the fanaticism displayed by supporters of Philadelphia's sports teams. After all, you can see people wearing Flyers jerseys or driving cars with the Phillies' "P" on the front license plate. Team names are painted into lawns. I pass a custom minibus emblazoned with the "Eagles" logo sitting in a driveway when I take one of the younger Armstrongs to his violin lesson each week. But Philadelphia's deep identification as a rabid sports town brought about 120 businesspeople to the Four Seasons Hotel on Thursday to hear a panel of experts make the case that it's not all fun and games.

The Union will host Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 on May 9 at PPL Park, the Union announced. Schalke is among the most popular teams in Germany and features stars as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, currently ranked second in the Bundesliga in scoring, Spanish legend Raul and U.S. national team midfielder Jermaine Jones. The team is in third place in the Bundesliga and is just one win away from a top four finish and a spot in the Champions League next season. "Over the last two years we have hosted top English, Mexican, Spanish and Scottish clubs to play the Union," said Nick Sakiewicz, Union CEO and operating partner.

The U.S. women's soccer team will play China in an exhibition May 27 at PPL Park in Chester, in preparation for the London Olympics. "We are pleased to welcome back the U.S. women's national team to PPL Park," said Nick Sakiewicz, CEO and operating partner of Keystone Sports and Entertainment. "This is the third time that we have hosted a U.S. Soccer match and we are proud to be one of the final stops for the [women] before they head off to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The Union are hours away from opening their 2012 Major League Soccer season, with 13 fresh faces collected during a newsworthy offseason. It's a group the technical staff believes will vault the club past last season's 11-8-15 record and its inaugural MLS Cup playoff berth. During the Union's inaugural season CEO and managing partner Nick Sakiewicz said it would take "at least three years to build a championship team. " Welcome to Year Three. But do the Union have the pieces to make a serious run?

Philabundance, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency food and services to area residents throughout the Philadelphia region, has named Michelle Hong chair. She is an attorney and director of wealth planning at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. New board members include: Bassam Awadalla, a consumer market executive at Bank of America; Dianne Elderkin, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.; Joseph A. Tedesco, senior vice president and regional sales manager at First Niagara Bank; and D. Michael Wilson, president of FMC Corp.; and Aaron R. Krauss, a partner at Cozen O'Connor.

In an announcement that offered little suspense but plenty of excitement, officials said Tuesday that the Union will host the 2012 Major League Soccer All-Star Game on July 25 at PPL Park in Chester. The official word came during a news conference at City Hall that included Mayor Nutter, MLS commissioner Don Garber, Union CEO and operating partner Nick Sakiewicz, Chester Mayor John Linder, and several members of the team's Sons of Ben fan club. The 8 p.m. game will feature the MLS all-stars and an international team to be determined.

A City Hall news conference on Tuesday involving Mayor Nutter and officials from Major League Soccer and the Union is expected to make official what multiple league sources have confirmed to Philly.com: that the Union will be hosting the 2012 MLS All-Star Game next summer. MLS and Union officials would not comment, but in addition to Nutter, MLS commissioner Don Garber, Chester mayor John Linder and Union CEO and operating partner Nick Sakiewicz are scheduled to be among attending the news conference.

It seems as if the Major League Soccer season never ends - and in many ways it doesn't. Although Union CEO and managing partner Nick Sakiewicz repeatedly has said he doesn't feel the season is long enough, when you visualize all the additives (friendlies, exhibitions, CONCACAF Champions League, etc.) included in a 34-game league stretch that runs from March into November, it can be quite exhausting. With its season-ending loss to Houston last week in the MLS playoffs, the Union's offseason has already begun.