Alameda City courting America's Cup

by Sam Felsing, Alameda Sun on 1 May 2010 Next month, major decisions regarding the future of the next America's Cup race should be settled. Though the location of the future race is unlikely to be revealed, the cities of Alameda and San Francisco hope the decisions will help their efforts to secure the sailing challenge for the Bay Area.

In 1851, the U.S. schooner America defeated 15 British boats in a race around the Isle of Wright. The race was called the 100 Guinea Cup. This was a great victory for the United States, as Britain had previously dominated the sailing community. After the race, a trophy was commissioned to celebrate the U.S. boat's victory. After its creation, the trophy spent six years traveling the U.S. It was eventually donated to the boat's headquarters, the New York Yacht Club. As a condition of receiving the trophy, the yacht club had to establish a regular sailing race between friendly countries. The winner of each race would receive the donated award. The America's Cup was thus established.

In addition to receiving the trophy, the winner of each Cup gets to decide where the next race will be located. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle team, sponsored by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, won the last race. As his team is stationed in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom has been directly appealing to Ellison to hold the Cup at his home site.

According to Kyri McClellan of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development for the city of San Francisco, 'We have been engaged in a due diligence process with the BMW Oracle racing team.' As a part of San Francisco's effort, it has been doing evaluations of city structures to see if any of them might be useful for the tournament. San Francisco asked a local company to do a regional analysis of the economic impact that the America's Cup could have on the Bay Area. The city government has also been appealing to many local organizations for support.

Besides its internal work, San Francisco's government has been working with the city of Alameda. San Francisco hopes to use Alameda Point and other sailing locations on the Island as places to station Cup challengers. Alameda officials are excited about the possibility of their city's involvement with the America's Cup. McClellan said of Alameda's involvement, 'We're grateful for their expression of interest and support.'

In March, Mayor Beverly Johnson, Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant, and some city council members sent a letter to Ellison explaining why Alameda could greatly benefit the next race. The authors of the letter state that, 'Alameda supports San Francisco's efforts to secure the next competition and would welcome the opportunity to provide residential, warehouse and docking facilities to the sailing syndicates that will visit San Francisco to participate in the next America's Cup.'

The letter also highlighted Alameda's expansive list of maritime companies, its six piers and yacht clubs, as well as Alameda's Point's usefulness for possible contenders. Alameda Point's warehouses could house boats in need of repair and its historic naval homes could be places for sailors to stay. 'I think it is a very, very feasible thing to do. It's a great fit and we have underutilized facilities.' said Councilman Doug DeHaan. 'We are also subservient to San Francisco.'

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