Scaled-Back America's Cup To Save S.F. Close To $10M In Production Costs

The '13 America's Cup regatta will have "fewer teams, fewer spectators and fewer super yachts," and is therefore "no longer expected" to generate more than $1B for the Bay Area's economy, according to John Cotè of the S.F. CHRONICLE. However, it will "cost substantially less to host sailing's most storied event." The Bay Area is "still expected to see" about $902M in economic activity, down from a projected $1.4B. Reports show that S.F.'s costs have "similarly shrunk" from an estimated $32M to $22.5M. This leaves an "eminently reachable target" of about $3M more in private fundraising to "cover the city's costs if tax revenue comes in as projected." S.F. America's Cup Project Dir Michael Martin said, "Things are going well. This is a good thing. It's good for the city, and it's good for the economy. Let's seize this opportunity." S.F. Mayor Edwin Lee's administration is "upbeat about preparations for an event that has already pushed the city to complete a number of waterfront improvements such as a new cruise ship terminal at Pier 27 and a promenade at Fisherman's Wharf." The contest is "still expected to draw 2 million people over almost three months of racing." That is "about 700,000 fewer than projected" in '10. S.F. Board of Supervisors member John Avalos said that he would be "satisfied if city government breaks even on its costs for hosting an event that he acknowledged would have 'some major economic impact' on San Francisco as a whole" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/13).

'13 AMERICA'S CUP	'10 PROJECTIONS	'13 UPDATE
Economic activity generated in the Bay Area	$1.4B	$902M
Jobs created	8,839	6,481
Spectators over three months of racing	2.7 million	2 million
City costs to host race	$32M	$22.5M
Hotel, payroll and retail tax revenue for city	$24M	$13M
Racing syndicates	15	4
Super yachts	40	10