Bermuda "has been picked over San Diego" to host the '17 America's Cup, according to a source cited by Bernie Wilson of the AP. The source said that former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison "made the decision after consulting" with Oracle Team USA CEO and America's Cup Event Authority Dir Russell Coutts. Wilson notes a news conference "to announce the venue selection" has been scheduled for Dec. 2 in N.Y. The choice of the British territory is "intriguing, from its location at the northern tip of the Bermuda Triangle to the financial incentives that include tax-free status for regatta participants." It also is "sure to be unpopular with traditionalists and could mean the end of powerhouse Emirates Team New Zealand and perhaps other challengers." This will be "the first time a U.S. defender holds the America's Cup outside" the U.S. Sailors and other members of America's Cup syndicates are "expected to benefit from tax breaks offered by Bermuda." Most sailors "wanted the regatta to return" to S.F. Bay, where "a steady wind blows." But Coutts "ruled out a return" to S.F., "unhappy that it didn't offer the same terms as last year, including free rent for piers as well as police, fire and other services" (AP, 11/20). In Bermuda, Dexter Smith notes the decision "is expected to result in a huge financial windfall for the Island." Tourism officials would view the event coming to Bermuda "as a 'game changer,' with tens of thousands of visitors expected to descend on the Island" (Bermuda ROYAL GAZETTE, 11/21).
HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE? The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Stu Woo writes San Diego "appeared to have all the advantages" having held the event in the 80s and 90s, being home to Oracle Team USA captain Jimmy Spithill, and being "just an hour’s flight from Ellison’s home." And "it was in America." Bermuda won "essentially because it offered a better deal, including lower taxes" than San Diego (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/21). In San Diego, Matt Calkins writes not only is the city the "better place to host the next America’s Cup -- the world’s premier sailing event -- it might just be the perfect place." But there was "one thing the Atlantic Ocean island could provide that San Diego couldn’t -- a tax-free experience for all the Cup’s participants." In making the decision, Ellison "certainly wasn't thinking of the fan experience." Unlike in Bermuda, where the races "will have to be offshore, the sailors would never be out of sight down here." Former America’s Cup sailor Malin Burnham said, "Bermuda is known as a tax haven for rich people. Is that the connotation you want for the America's Cup?" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/21).
