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Nissan takes over naming rights for Tennessee Titans stadium [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Nissan has released a pair of renderings showing how the stadium could look when the transformation is complete. Check them out in the gallery above. Nissan looms large in Nashville. That's where its North American headquarters are based, and just 25 miles down the road in Smyrna is its massive assembly plant. But it's about to become an even bigger part of the Tennessee metropolis as the Japanese automaker has acquired the naming rights to the stadium where the Tennessee Titans play. The deal, confirmed by Nissan in correspondence with Autoblog this morning, will see the sports complex switch names from LP Field (currently named for building materials firm Lousiana-Pacific Corp.) to Nissan Stadium. The arrangement will be valid for the next 20 years. What's more, the deal will be in place in time for Nissan to introduce its new Titan pickup that shares its name with the football team, despite being built in Mississippi. The contract will also see Nissan become the official automotive partner of the Titans. Aside serving as the NFL team's home, the Nashville stadium also plays host to Tennessee State University football, the Music City Bowl, and numerous other events. Country music fans may be more familiar with the CMA Music Festival, held every year at the stadium and nearby Riverside Park, but we're most looking forward to a Rams-Titans showdown to determine who plays the best ball and makes the best truck. Of course, Nissan isn't the only automaker to have its name on a major sports complex in America. In fact Nissan Stadium won't even be the only NFL stadium named after a car company: Mercedes has the naming rights for the Louisiana Superdome that the New Orleans Saints call home, and the Detroit Lions play at Ford Field. (Sorry to break it to you, but Tiger Stadium had nothing more to do with Sunbeams than New York's Polo Grounds did with little Volkswagens or Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field has to do with leasing Town Cars.)

French investigators will question Carlos Ghosn in Lebanon

BEIRUT — A team of French investigators will come to Beirut next month to participate in interrogating former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, a Lebanese justice ministry official said Saturday. The official gave no specific date or details of what information the investigators would seek from Ghosn. Former auto executive Ghosn, who is a Lebanese, Brazilian and French national, fled Japan in a dramatic escape that drew headlines last year, arriving in Lebanon on Dec. 30, 2019. In addition to his trial in Japan, the 66-year-old businessman is facing a number of legal challenges in France, including tax evasion and alleged money laundering, fraud and misuse of company assets while at the helm of the Renault-Nissan alliance. The Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the French investigators would be working alongside their Lebanese counterparts. Information about investigations is secret under French law, and French judicial officials did not respond to requests for comment Saturday on the report. After leading the Japanese automaker Nissan for two decades, Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gains and violating securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation. He denied wrongdoing and fled Japan while out on bail awaiting trial. He is unlikely to be extradited from Lebanon, where he has been since last year. At least two Ghosn-related investigations were opened in France. One focused on suspicious transactions between Renault and a distributor in Oman, as well as suspected payments for private trips and events paid by Renault-NissanÂ’s Netherlands-based holding company RNBV. Another investigation focused on suspected misuse of company funds for a party for Ghosn at Versailles. The French inquiry aims to determine who is at fault for a string of alleged financial violations between 2009 and 2020. That includes “suspicious financial flows” between Renault and the SBA car dealership in Oman. This aspect of the inquiry is targeting several million euros of travel and other costs paid by the Netherlands-based Renault-Nissan holding RNBV but suspected to have been for GhosnÂ’s personal use. GhosnÂ’s French lawyers have said the payments to SBA were “justified bonuses” for having boosted car sales in the Persian Gulf and denied allegations that the funds benefited Ghosn or his family personally.

Federal prosecutor fights bail for men accused of helping Carlos Ghosn escape

BOSTON — A U.S. prosecutor on Monday urged a judge to keep a former Green Beret and his son locked up as Japan prepares to formally seek their extradition on charges that they helped former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flee the East Asian country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hassink argued during a virtual hearing that Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, have a "clear and present reason to flee" after being accused of helping Ghosn, who faces financial misconduct charges in Japan. "They're actually some of the best defendants that IÂ’m sure this court has seen positioned to actually succeed in that flight," Hassink said. He argued the men, who have been held without bail since being arrested in Massachusetts last month, helped smuggle Ghosn out of Japan in a box on Dec. 29, 2019. Ghosn then allegedly fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. Ghosn, Nissan's former chief executive, was charged with engaging in financial wrongdoing by understating his compensation in Nissan's financial statements. He denies wrongdoing. The Taylors' lawyers countered that had they wished to avoid prosecution they could have remained in Lebanon, where they were in January when Japan said it would seek their arrest, rather than return to Massachusetts. "If he's an expert of escape, he would not have returned to the United States," Robert Sheketoff, a lawyer for Michael Taylor, argued. He and other defense lawyers argued the case against their clients was flawed and that Michael Taylor, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and private security specialist, is at heightened risk of complications from COVID-19, which could spread in the jail. The hearing itself was held through a Zoom videoconference because of the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell said he hoped to rule "as quickly as I can." Related Video: