The U.S. city of San Francisco spent about $6.5M in the fiscal year '11-12 "for city staffers'
time, permitting costs and other expenses to prepare for the 2013
America's Cup sailing races," according to Eric Young of the S.F.
BUSINESS TIMES. That compares to "an initial estimate" of about $10.8M.
Costs were "lower than anticipated because the scope of the America's
Cup deal has been scaled back." Organizers of the sailing race "dropped
plans to develop Piers 30-32 after the competition ends, which reduced
the time city staffers needed to prepare for that site." The city "will
continue spending this year and into" '13, when the America's Cup
championships are held on S.F. Bay. City officials said that the overall
bill through '13 "could reach" $32M. But because initial costs "came in
lower, there is a chance the final price tag will not go that high" (S.F. BUSINESS TIMES, 7/13 issue).
America's Cup Racing Dir of Umpiring & Rules Administration Mike
Martin said of promoting the event in S.F., "We'd like to use August and
October to really build the excitement for 2013 so we don't have this
spike of interest and then go dormant. We are working with (the
America's Cup) to have more visible locations along the waterfront" (S.F. BUSINESS TIMES, 7/13 issue).
MAKING WAVES: The S.F. BUSINESS TIMES' Young in a
separate piece noted the race has "made several changes geared toward
mass appeal, including a full-fledged effort to lure a TV audience that
can help the competition grow revenue and popularity." The America's Cup
"struck a deal with NBC to ensure live national distribution." Oracle
Founder & CEO and Oracle Racing Owner Larry Ellison, who has
invested in the event, said he wants the Cup to go "from a kind of
elitist event to a popular sporting event." Ellison: "Professional
sailing is not as popular a sport as it could be, because it has not
gotten the right TV coverage." The main change to the TV broadcast
involves "using a new technology that superimposes special effects over
live action on viewers' screens, a step that makes races more accessible
to a broad audience." There will also be "microphones on all boats."
America's Cup Technology Dir Stan Honey and his group "invented what
they call LiveLine, which lets viewers see the race course, the
direction of boats and other important race elements like wind speed."
Honey's efforts have "already won TV industry recognition, earning an
Emmy this year" (S.F. BUSINESS TIMES, 7/13 issue).
