San Jose Announced as Host City for Expanded 2009 Amgen Tour of California

SAN JOSE, CA, Jul 23 (MARKET WIRE) --
San Jose will again host the record-setting Amgen Tour of California
professional cycling road race, Tuesday, February 17. San Jose will be
the start city of race's Stage 4 that will finish in Modesto.

According to Amgen Tour of California presenter, AEG, the race will be
expanded in 2009 and include stops in 16 host cities over the course of
nine days from February 14-22. Already considered cycling's most important
and successful road race in the United States, the event's fourth running
will be expanded to cover more than 800 miles over the nine days.
Traveling almost the entire length of California, the race will begin in
the state's capital, Sacramento, and end in San Diego County (a new
addition to the race) with a finish in Escondido on February 22. Also for
the first time, the riders will cross the Golden Gate Bridge at the
beginning of Stage 3.

The 16 official stage start and finish cities that have been selected for
the 2009 race include eight new locales -- Davis, Santa Cruz, Merced,
Clovis, Visalia, Paso Robles, Rancho Bernardo and Escondido -- that will
join Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, San Jose, Modesto, Solvang, Santa
Clarita and Pasadena as host cities along the route.

"San Jose is honored to host the Amgen Tour of California every year since
its inception," said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "This world-class cycling
race builds on San Jose's rich cycling history and on the terrific Amgen
Tour of California stages produced by San Jose during the past three
years. As a city that encourages cycling as an alternative form of
transportation, the Tour raises awareness about the environmental and
health benefits of cycling," said Reed.

The Amgen Tour of California continues San Jose's long cycling legacy and
complements its position as a key center for cycling sport. San Jose is
where one of the world's first pedal bicycles was engineered. And, San
Jose's first bicycle club was formed in 1884. The city is home to one out
of only 19 velodromes in the United States. Plus, San Jose has 38,000 bike
commuters traveling on more than 150-miles of on-street bikeways, which
helped earn the city a National Bicycle Friendly Community Award from the
League of American Bicyclists. As an epicenter of cycling in the San
Francisco Bay area, San Jose is part of one of the world's largest great
cycling communities in North America.

"Each year, we have been able to make the Amgen Tour of California
better," said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports, presenter of the
race. "After getting input from riders and fans last year, we decided to
expand the race to better showcase the great state of California. We felt
it was important to return to San Jose due to the overwhelming support
and unique route it has provided in previous years. We are delighted to
have such a great overall mix of cities partnering with us for the 2009
Amgen Tour of California and are pleased to include the eight new stops,
along with so many of our old friends."

In its first three years, the Amgen Tour of California has become the most
successful race in the United States with regards to attendance, economic
benefits to the state, global recognition and the caliber of the cyclists
participating. In 2008, the race drew 1.6 million spectators, continuing
to set records for a single sporting event in the state of California, as
well as any cycling event ever held on U.S. soil. Each year the race has
generated $100 million in economic growth for the state.

"This year is a year of exciting firsts for us," Messick continued. "For
the first time, the Amgen Tour of California will take place over nine
days, we will make our first visit to the western slopes of the Sierra
Nevada and visit San Diego County for what promises to be another exciting
conclusion to the race."

The Amgen Tour of California kicks off the professional road cycling
season each year and continues to draw some of the world's most renowned
and respected riders, such as top Tour de France competitors, World
Champions and Olympic medalists that include Tom Boonen, Paolo Bettini,
Fabian Cancellara, George Hincapie, Oscar Freire and Bobby Julich. Winner
of the 2007 and 2008 Amgen Tour of California, Santa Rosa resident Levi
Leipheimer of the Astana team has had a strong season since his Amgen
Tour of California victory earlier in the year and will next be
representing the United States in the Olympic Games.

"Winning the Amgen Tour of California has been a goal of mine from the
beginning; no matter which races I compete in," said Levi Leipheimer.
"This has always been a top priority for me."

Last month AEG, presenter of the race, formed a multi-dimensional
marketing partnership with the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), owner of
the Tour de France, to grow and develop each other's events. Beginning
with the 2008 Tour de France and 2009 Amgen Tour of California, the
multi-year agreement calls for the organizations to develop and initiate
comprehensive cross-promotional platforms for the world's most
prestigious cycling event and America's most successful cycling race, as
well as provide assistance with media and sponsorship sales for the races
in their respective regions.

Returning for the fourth consecutive year as the title sponsor of the
Amgen Tour of California, Amgen, a leading global biotechnology company
with headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Calif., will continue to leverage the
race to raise awareness and support for people affected by cancer through
the Breakaway from Cancer(TM) initiative. Amgen's invaluable support of
the Amgen Tour of California has helped to ensure the race's continued
success and impact beyond the sporting arena.

"Sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California has given Amgen the
opportunity to educate people about the great advances in medicine made
possible by biotechnology, and to strengthen our relationships with local
communities, cancer support organizations and cancer survivors through our
Breakaway from Cancer initiative," said George Morrow, Amgen's executive
vice president, Global Commercial Operations. "We look forward to another
great race in 2009 and the opportunity to again lead the Breakaway from
Cancer initiative to increase awareness of the support and educational
resources available to help people living with cancer."

Having been sanctioned by the UCI (Union Cycliste International) and USA
Cycling, the Amgen Tour of California has drawn the attention of both
cycling enthusiasts and first-time spectators, making it one of the most
anticipated events on the international cycling calendar.

Beginning with a road stage (a first for the race), which both starts and
ends in Sacramento, through the grand finale in Escondido, the 2009 race
will visit 16 host cities for official stage starts and finishes, while
other cities along the route also will have the opportunity to witness the
excitement of elite professional cycling. Stages for the 2009 Amgen Tour
of California include:

-- Stage 1: Saturday, Feb. 14 - Sacramento
-- Stage 2: Sunday, Feb. 15 - Davis to Santa Rosa
-- Stage 3: Monday, Feb. 16 - Sausalito to Santa Cruz
-- Stage 4: Tuesday, Feb. 17 - San Jose to Modesto
-- Stage 5: Wednesday, Feb. 18 - Merced to Clovis
-- Stage 6: Thursday, Feb. 19 - Visalia to Paso Robles
-- Stage 7: Friday, Feb. 20 - Solvang (individual time trial)
-- Stage 8: Saturday, Feb. 21 - Santa Clarita to Pasadena
-- Stage 9: Sunday, Feb. 22 - Rancho Bernardo to Escondido

For further information on the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, please
visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.

About the Amgen Tour of California

The largest cycling event in America, the 2009 Amgen Tour of California is
a Tour de France-style cycling road race presented by AEG that challenges
the world's top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding,
recently expanded, 800-mile course from Sacramento to Escondido from
February 14-22, 2009.

About Amgen

Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative human
therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the
first companies to realize the new science's promise by bringing safe and
effective medicines from lab, to manufacturing plant, to patient. Amgen
therapeutics have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of
people around the world in the fight against cancer, kidney disease,
rheumatoid arthritis, and other serious illnesses. With a broad and deep
pipeline of potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing
science to dramatically improve people's lives. To learn more about
Amgen's pioneering science and vital medicines, visit www.amgen.com. To
learn more about Amgen's Breakaway from Cancer initiative, visit
breakawayfromcancer.com.

About AEG

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the
world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or
controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES
Center, The Home Depot Center, Sprint Center, The O2, NOKIA Theatre L.A.
LIVE and NOKIA Theatre Times Square; sports franchises including the Los
Angeles Kings (NHL), two Major League Soccer franchises, a Major League
Lacrosse team, two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of
privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, the ING Bay to Breakers
foot race and the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race; AEG LIVE,
the organization's live-entertainment division, is a collection of
companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music
performance, touring and a variety of programming and multi-media
production. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com.

About the City of San Jose

From its founding in 1777 as California's first city, San Jose has been a
leader, driven by its spirit of innovation. Today, San Jose stands as the
third largest city California, behind Los Angeles and San Diego, and the
Capital of Silicon Valley--the world's leading center of innovation. The
city, the 10th largest in the U.S., is committed to remaining a top-ranked
place to work, live, learn and play.

Media Contacts:

AEG
Michael Roth
(213) 742-7155
Email Contact

GolinHarris
Nicole Okoneski
(213) 438-8793
Email Contact

City of San Jose
Steven Brewster
(415) 577-8851
Email Contact

Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-