The city of San Francisco and the Port of Fiumincino in Italy are the top contenders to host the America's Cup in 2013. The choice is up to the last winner, software billionaire Larry Ellison.
If you liked the Giants victory parade, then San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom thinks you'll love the sailing races. The city would raise $270 million from private sponsors and expects to receive a $1.4 billion economic boost in exchange.
"I think people got a flavor of the World Series and what that meant to San Francisco and the entire region, this entire state. That's what we're talking about for America's Cup, but on a much larger and grander scale," he said.
"So to be able to have that in San Francisco it would really be a tremendous economic boom, a job lifter and tax generator to the city," Joe D'Alessandro from the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau said.
The agreement Newsom presented calls for Piers 28 to 50 to be used as venues. He dismissed reports that the Giants want some piers for themselves. Under the city's plan, Ellison's team would pay to shore up the dilapidated structures and get long-term development rights in return, which concerns Supervisor John Avalos.
"There wasn't really a plan, that I heard, for the port to get reimbursed for that," he said.
Avalos and Supervisor Chris Daly are the only supervisors who voted against an earlier non-binding proposal, and Daly says nothing has changed his mind.
"There is clearly a huge outlay of cash and a huge liability and long-term commitments on public land. And I think all San Franciscans should be concerned about this welfare for a billionaire," he said.
"With respect to a supervisor on his way out, don't ruin this for everybody else," Newsom said.
The next step is a hearing in December, and Newsom hopes the agreement will be approved before he leaves office in January.
