S.F. America's Cup facilities might move north

John Coté,Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Spectators for the next America's Cup would be able to watch 72-foot catamarans surge across a finish line with Alcatraz in the background under a revised proposal San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is pushing in the city's bid to host sailing's top regatta.

The mayor's staff huddled with race organizers into Tuesday evening trying to craft a plan to shift the main public facilities from south of the Bay Bridge to the northern waterfront between Piers 19 and 29.

That option recently gained popularity because it's cheaper, reduces the amount of public property conveyed for private development and gives spectators a better view of the action.

The push to modify the proposal, with meetings expected to continue this morning, comes as the Board of Supervisors' budget committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today on the fiscal feasibility of the city's America's Cup bid.

The core of the mayor's proposal to host the series of races remains the same - granting development rights and leases of up to 75 years for waterfront parcels to race organizers, led by billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

In exchange, race organizers would bring an international sporting event whose economic benefit is eclipsed only by the Olympics and soccer's World Cup. They would also pay to stabilize piers, dredge yacht berths and possibly contribute work to speed the completion of a planned cruise ship terminal at Pier 27.

Ellison's BMW Oracle Racing team, sponsored by San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club, captured the America's Cup in February off Valencia, Spain, and will select the location of the next regatta. The team has set up an event authority arm to handle the commercial side of the Cup and expects to decide on a site by the end of the year.

http://img573.imageshack.us/img573/3474/bacup1208grsfcg12917692.jpg (http://img573.imageshack.us/i/bacup1208grsfcg12917692.jpg/)

source and full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/08/BAPI1GN7QU.DTL

Congrats on being awarded the 2013 America's Cup! :)

The 34th America's Cup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_America's_Cup) will be sailed in 2013 in San Francisco, California with 72-foot wing-sail catamarans. Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) is the defender of the America's Cup, after their racing team, BMW Oracle Racing defeated the Swiss Alinghi team of Société Nautique de Genève in the 2010 America's Cup. The Italian Club Nautico di Roma has been announced as the Challenger of Record.

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SAN FRANCISCO (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h3fqX1iHinD1KdIvz42G4WnUe6LQ?docId=CNG.339223ab5436ba3fa84923908500ee61.ad1)— Royal Swedish Yacht Club has become the Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup, replacing Club Nautico di Roma after the Italian team dropped out of the competition last week.

The Swedish club, known as KSSS, will represent all challengers in dealings with the trophy holders, San Francisco's Oracle Racing, ahead of the yachting showdown set to be staged in 2013 on San Francisco Bay.

The Swedish group moved into the challenger of record spot by virtue of being the second challenger to register behind the Rome club, whose Mascalzone Latino squad dropped out after being unable to raise sufficient funding.

Artemis Racing, led by American Paul Cayard, is the racing team for the Swedish club. As record challenger, KSSS would have the right to help organize the 2013 event.

Together with fellow challenger Team New Zealand and the defenders, Artemis has already started sailing ahead of its bid for the oldest continuously contested trophy in sport.

Competition starts with the July 13-September 1, 2013 Challengers Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winning yacht will meet US defender Oracle in the September 7-22 America's Cup final, last staged on US waters in 1995.

by Philip Ferrato (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/04/01/the_people_plan_getting_serious_about_those_200k_visitors.php)

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What to do with 200,000 people in one weekend? Aside from stocking up on toilet paper, it's important to figure out how you're going to move them around, and the city's doing just that with the People Plan, released yesterday amidst much fanfare at Justin Herman Plaza. And as expected, the plan is ambitious, starting with the press release headline:

Draft Plan Seeks Further Public & Stakeholder Input, Aims to Create Most Transit, Bicycle and Pedestrian-Friendly Major International Sporting Event in History

The plan's not especially radical and focuses on the next two years. In the short-term, the project's been divided into four areas:

● Transit options will be "robust"
● Bicycles to take advantage of the flat Embarcadero and North Waterfront
● Feet- you'll need them for the "Natural Pedestrian Corridors"
● Cars? Not bloody likely. Probably not north of Market or south of Fort Point

Of course, there's the long-term, some of which is in the pipeline: the Jefferson Street project to re-invent FIsherman's Wharf, the expansion of the F to the Marina (now under Federal review, EIR's in the mail) and the Laguna-to-Lyon Streets improvements to Marina Green, the Masonic Street corridor into the Presidio.

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Presumably the GGNRA and the Presidio Trusts have their own fish to fry. Will the Presidio finally get its hotel? Will the Golden Gate Bridge close to cars for the final race? No mention of Treasure Island as a viewing area.

The Plan recognizes some serious issues, the most pressing, of course, is getting everything ready in time. There will probably be auto permitting for residents and vendors near the viewing areas so they can get around street closures. There will be permitting for spectator boats. It mentions the potentially unwelcome tour buses. We imagine there will be a discreet overlay of VIP transit- it's a sponsored event, after all- and there must have been something about handicapped access but we missed it. Seriously, we suggest you read it. It's your civic duty. There's no doubt the next two years will be transformative, and the city's accepting input via americascup@sfgov.org. And of course, you're welcome to comment below.

by Philip Ferrato (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/02/17/acup_consider_an_investment_in_portapotty_leases_now.php)

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Wonder what's going on with the America's Cup EIR? We thought not. But just in case you are, here's something massive you can read: the NOP, aka Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report. It also includes notice of "public scoping meetings" next week on the 23rd and 24th at City Hall at 6:30PM, with written comments accepted until March 11. It's a curious document, one of those "let's cover our bases" lists of areas potentially affected by multi-hull catamarans and the people who love them. Among the many things we got out of it in addition to shoring up the old piers:

● A shell for the future cruise terminal will be erected on Piers 27/29 with an America's Cup village erected in and around it as temporary (maybe) structures. Apparently the soccer field and Teatro Zinzani are toast (yes, there's an artificial-turf soccer field out there) and the Chinese New Year's floats parked there will have to move on.

● Red's Java House is safe. For now.

● Marina Green and Crissy Field should expect to get 50-100K spectators lining their shores and new bleachers, although the viewing area appears to stop at the Warming Hut instead of going all the way to Fort Point. Damn, that's a lot of porta-potties.

● Alcatraz is going totally VIP-tent.

● Treasure Island is completely omitted, even though it's got prime race-route frontage.

● No mention of a secure zone around the St. Francis Yacht Club.

● No mention of the California Coastal Commission, as if they're going to let this while thing just slide by.

Also not in the NOP- did you know you can camp overnight for free on Angel Island? Maybe everyone will stay home and watch it on television.

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by Philip Ferrato (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/02/08/acup_remaking_the_waterfront.php)

As expected, SPUR weighed in late last week with suggestions for infrastructure improvements to complement the America's Cup Race in 2012. And with an admittedly tight timeline. What they're looking for: the long-awaited extension of the F-line along the Embarcadero from Fisherman's Wharf up Bay Street and terminating at Fort Mason, above. As major stakeholders in this stretch of waterfront, the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area have been working on this since 2006, well before anyone (besides Larry Ellison, of course) thought about the America's Cup here. We wish the Presidio Trust would wake up and help extend the line to Crissy Field and Parade Ground. Second: Implementation of the Planning Department's Fisherman's Wharf Public Realm Plan which can be summed up as fewer cars, less t-shirts. And while no one who lives here goes to Fisherman's Wharf, it might be nice waterfront option someday, right? Third: the implementation of the ambitious and pedestrian-friendly emBIKEadero waterfront bike path proposal, which would create a two-lane, two-way bike path along the waterfront in the existing roadbed. Since the emBikeadero plan seems to involve not much more than green paint, stanchions, and no EIR, we have a feeling it's the one that may actually happen.

[Correction: the new route would go up Beach Street, not Bay Street]

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by Philip Ferrato (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/01/07/acup_the_rising_tide_raises_all_boats_realtors_perk_up.php)

Suddenly, the excitement around the America's Cup race sinks in when you look at the map and the term "natural sailing amphitheater" takes on new meaning. Also it could be renamed the Race Around Alcatraz. The press release is worth a read, if only for its slightly contagious enthusiasm. Meanwhile, excitement about money and jobs ramp up as cities around the Bay Area are angling for some cup action, with both Alameda and Richmond boosters letting it be known what great back-up facilities they can provide. Both have deep water access and available shorefront; Richmond wants to build an "America's Cup Village." As for the seriously rich people in town, the SFACOC (San Francisco America's Cup Organizing Committee) has to come up with $12,000,000 by the end of the year, for a total of $32,000,000 by 2013 to fulfill their commitment to defray the SF's projected cost of hosting the race. As for the aphorism that the "rising tide lifts all boats," maybe this place on Telegraph Hill with sell although it only has views of half the race, but we expect anything with a full view of the race to command prices not seen since… 2007.

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by Philip Ferrato (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/01/05/team_ellison_gets_seawall_lot_330_let_the_howling_begin.php)

The new, enhanced terms of the San Francisco's deal for the A-Cup, which snatched the race from the laps of sailboat-loving Newporters, have been revealed. In the proverbial nutshell: Team Ellison gets title to Port-owned Seawall Lot 330 (that triangular parking lot, above, surrounding the Watermark) and a new, reduced rate on the long-term leases for the adjacent piers. In exchange for infrastructure investment in the piers and holding the race here, the deal includes indemnification (in the form of further-reduced rents) against losses.The original plan was to lease the lot for 75 years: that changed to title in exchange for a cut of revenue from the condos Team Ellison would build there; the new deal gives the city nothing in direct revenue. Just the promise of a huge cash infusion into the local economy and permanent facilities for other sailing events and regattas in the future.

So far, no word on the bulk Team Ellison will be permitted to build on Seawall Lot 330 or whether they'll have to fit into the density parameters laid down when the site was destined to be part of the cruise ship terminal planned there in the early 2000's. Bovis, which built the Watermark, gave up its rights to the rest in 2006 and the still-unbuilt cruise terminal location moved north to Pier 27 in 2008. The site has been a parking lot for the ballpark ever since, and recent history's not in Ellison's favor. Nothing's been built on the Embarcadero since the Hotel Vitale went up in 2005. Developer Simon Snellgrove had to reduce the height and bulk of HVAC equipment on his Pier 1.5 renovation project to appease Telegraph Hill dwellers, and we all know how successful he's been in getting his 8 Washington Street project built on Seawall Lot 351. Should be a fun year!

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by Philip Ferrato (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2010/11/10/americas_cup_2013_looking_good_for_san_francisco.php#som-americas-cup-6)

More news from the waterfront, and things are looking good for the 34th America's Cup here in San Francisco in 2013. According to today's New York Times, a spokesman for the Golden Gate Yacht Club is quoted as saying that Valencia is no longer under consideration for the race, leaving the competition between Italy (with a yet-to-be disclosed location) and San Francisco. Yesterday, an agreement was announced between the club (Oracle/BMW's sponsor) and the city, which must be approved by the Board of Supervisors. Since six of the eleven Supes are co-sponsors of the agreement, it's expected to go through. More at the Chronicle. The basics: San Francisco and Ports will cede extensive development rights between the Bay Bridge and China Basin to the Event Authority in exchange for a minimum of $270,000,000 in infrastructure investment. Like fixing the rotting piers, which Ports cannot afford to do.

The Event Authority is not some quasi-public agency- it's the Oracle/BMW entity that will "produce" the event. And let's not forget that when Larry Ellison's bid to compete under the San Francisco Yacht Club's pennant was rudely declined a decade ago, he went downshore a ways and bought the little Golden Gate Yacht Club. The Event Authority could possibly make its decision this month, and it's likely that Italy, a place where archaeology traditionally gets in the way of new infrastructure, will zero out. What makes San Francisco seem an even more likely choice is that Spain, the host of the last America's Cup race, has invested billions of pesos in a world-class facility in Valencia that's ready to go. No doubt we'll see an increase in sales activity in the neighborhood as investors buy condos to rent out for the races.

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Source: www.socketsite.com

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Source: www.socketsite.com

With Supervisor Kim casting the sole dissenting vote in the Budget and Finance Sub-Committee, on Tuesday San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors will review the Finding of Fiscal Feasibility for the Port’s Cruise Terminal Project at Pier 27.

The estimated project cost for the terminal is $90,308,846 with the Port having identified $78,393,200 in "various potential funding sources, leaving a shortfall of $11,915,646." The potential funding sources include $15,500,000 in Port Revenue Bonds, $9,122,943 in General Obligation Bonds, and a $6,500,000 contribution from the City’s General Fund.

As proposed the Pier 27 Cruise Ship Terminal Project would be constructed in two phases to accommodate the use of Pier 27 for the 34th America’s Cup from January 2013 to April 2014. The new cruise terminal would open November 2014.

Additional renderings on the SF Port website (http://www.sfport.com/index.aspx?page=282):

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There are more at the link above.

34th America's Cup Trailer

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xivNKFulYhU&feature=channel_video_title

By Paul Warren (http://thetriton.com/article/2011/06/venues-dates-announced-america%E2%80%99s-cup-world-series)
June 1, 2011

The initial venues and dates have been announced for the 2011 season of the new America’s Cup World Series sailing regattas.

Event organizers, the America’s Cup Event Authority in San Francisco, announced three regattas. The lead-off event will be staged in Cascais, Portugal, from Aug. 6-14.

The primary marina there for megayachts is the Marina de Cascais. The marina can handle vessels up to 330 feet (100m). There is also an open roadstead just off the town for anchorage.

The second stage of this year’s schedule will take place in Plymouth, England, from Sept. 10-18.

The third regatta will be in San Diego some time later this fall or early winter.

The America’s Cup World Series is a new suite of sailing events that are a prelude to the America’s Cup Finals regatta in September 2013. The finals will be held on San Francisco Bay, while multiple international venues will host the individual regattas of the AC World Series.

Currently, 10 teams from 9 countries have officially entered the competition and been identified. Four additional teams have issued challenges but remain unidentified while the vetting process continues. A total of 14 teams representing 12 countries are expected to be on the race starting line when the first gun is fired in Cascais.

The AC’s top challenger, Italy’s Club Nautico di Roma and its sailing team, Mascalzone Latino, withdrew from the race in May, citing financial difficulties. The Royal Swedish Yacht Club represented by Artemis Racing, has been named as the official Challenger of Record.

The America’s Cup World Series will feature both fleet racing and, in the America’s Cup tradition, match racing between pairs of yachts.

Megayachts attending the Plymouth regatta on the UK’s southwest coast will want to check out Plymouth Yacht Haven on Plymouth Sound. This 450-slip marina has berthing for yachts up to 150 feet (45m). Queen Anne’s Battery Marina, an MDL-managed marina, can accommodate yachts up to 140 feet (42m) on its transient/visitors’ pontoon dock. Both marinas feature yacht chandleries and restaurants on property.

Also nearby is Torquay Marina, which offers berthing for yachts up to 100 feet (30m). Prevailing winds in the area are generally from the southwest.

For yachts going to San Diego for the first AC regatta in the United States, the salient megayacht facilities are Fifth Avenue Landing marina, Shelter Island Marina, Driscoll Boat Works, and Marine Group Boatworks. The latter two are full-service repair operations, too.

Enjoy the high-tech, high-speed new breed of the America’s Cup.

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This replica of the schooner America, which began America's Cup, is at Golden Gate Yacht Club.
Credit: Bob Grieser

May 28, 2011|By Paul V. Oliva, Special to The Chronicle (http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-05-28/entertainment/29593316_1_emirates-team-new-zealand-oracle-racing-boat-designs)

The San Francisco Bay this week began its new role as panorama, playground and prototype racecourse for three generations of America's Cup boat designs spanning the entire 160 years of Cup history.

For starters, you can step aboard a replica of the 1851 schooner that began it all.

The America's Cup got its name from the yacht America, launched May 3, 1851. She sailed to England and won Queen Victoria's 100 Guinea Cup that August, swiftly dubbed America's Cup in the press.

The original America, which had a black hull, a sharp bow and two heavily raked masts, fell into disrepair and was ultimately scrapped in 1945 after heavy snowfall crushed its restoration shed.

Its sparkling 139-foot replica, built in 1995 for $6 million, sailed into San Francisco Bay earlier this month and is docked at Golden Gate Yacht Club to celebrate the city's hosting of the America's Cup.

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It's here: the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the 34th Americas's Cup Race. We've only glanced at Volume 1 and Volume 2. Because they're immense. But seriously worth the download (http://www.sfplanning.org/index.aspx?page=1828), with all sorts of previously-unknown bits and bobs like what will happen on Marina Green (thick with VIP tents) Fort Mason (Communications) and the future cruise terminal. The usual suspects- spectators, transit, porta-potties and parking, are included. Public comments accepted until August 25th, so cruise on through and decide if you love it or hate it. Or if you just want to weigh in on the location of the porta-potties on your block. And seriously, let your Supervisor know. They're the ones who will be voting.

IMO, one of the best things to happen to our waterfront since the tearing down of the Embarcadero freeway. The port wasn't going to shore up the various derelict piers anytime soon, now with this, they will definitely be fixed and reused. For me our waterfront could be the most bad ass in the world, and with the America's Cup and its attendant money it may finally be. Throw in the Doyle Drive replacement project and the various Hunters, Candlestick and other bay side projects, and I can't think of another city that would have a better waterfront than San Francisco.

^^ Yup, its going to be an awesome waterfront in the US. I'll definitely be watching this race. :yes:

Yesterday, the Planning Department released their 1,600 page environmental impact report. Tucked among heaps of mundane things like how much audible noise a helicopter floating over Crissy Field makes (Appendix NO-2), it contains a pile of sunny-day renderings of developments that will be popping up around the Bay in advance of 2013's fancy yacht race. Some are permanent (Pier 27-29 Cruise ship terminal), some are long overdue (Pier 30-32 cleanup) and some are just awesome (VIP event space on Alcatraz). Observe.

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Rendering of proposed America's Cup Village and cruise terminal at Piers 27-29. Source: SFPlanning.org

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Race organizers aren't shy about pitching a tent on the Marina green. Source: SFPlanning.org

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The pier 30 parking lot is transformed in to... a parking lot. Source: SFPlanning.org

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Yacht-owning spectators will be able to float their boats at the open-water berthing area between piers 14 and 22 1/2. Source: SFPlanning.org

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Start making friends at Oracle now, the Alcatraz viewing area is reserved for media operations and use as a "Hospitality Area for Corporate and Private Functions." Source: SFPlanning.org

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The largest private yacht expected to show up is (of course) Larry Ellison's 244-foot Katana. Source: SFPlanning.org

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Curbed SF's (http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/07/13/acup_draft_eir_americas_cup_village_the_cruise_terminal.php) been taking a look at the Draft EIR for the America's Cup Race. In a word, Biblical. Although we haven't run into anything as thrilling as Genesis, the DEIR does weigh in at around 1600 pages divided into chapters and sub-sections. More Leviticus than Psalms, definitely. In the next few weeks we'll try to break it down.

It's a desire baffling to some, but San Francisco has long felt the need for a cruise ship terminal. Around the turn of the last century, it was supposed to be at the conjoined piers 30-32 and across the Embarcadero at Seawall lot 330 (at Bryant & Embarcadero) but the faltering economy got in the way. Now the plan is to piggyback it onto an America's Cup Village site at Piers 27-29, also joined with an area known as "The Valley" and currently the site of a soccer field, storage space for the floats and gear for the Chinese New Year Parade and surface parking. All of which will move to other venues. The current phased plan basically involves the replacement of the shed on Pier 27 with a new cruise terminal and the refurbishment of the shed on 29, with the end result coming after the race as terminal, waterfront park and event space, all paid for by the America's Cup Event Authority in exchange for a long-term lease. Even without the forty to sixty cruise ship berthings every year, the waterfront needs a location for visiting foreign ships, exploration vessels and mega-yachts. And like much of the America's Cup project, it's being planned by Aecom, a global mega-project consulting and design firm. For a quick idea of Aecom's scale and experience, check out the video of the World Cup in Johannesburg, one of their many projects. It's way beyond porta-potty rentals. Click on the image above to enlarge- and yes there is space for ten spectator's mega-yachts along with a food hall, just for starters.

Below, a very schematic look at the plan for the site, post-race, called the James R. Herman Terminal- "Jimmy" Herman was a longshoreman and labor leader. We think there will probably be naming opportunities for what's now the proposed 2.5-acre "Northeast Wharf Plaza" as well:

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Homeland Security requires that the cruise ships be secured by a fenced-off area, so they've come up with one that will retract when not needed, opening up the planned plaza to the water:

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Aerial view of the site, and the Village viewed from Telegraph Hill:

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KMD/Pfau Architecture's proposed design for the Terminal:

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Very very cool

San Francisco planning hurdles begin for 2013 America's Cup

Published: Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 10:59 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 10:59 a.m.

SAN FRANCISCO — The America's Cup is expected to create 8,000 jobs and inject more than $1.4 billion into the region's economy when the world's fastest yachts take to San Francisco Bay in 2013.

But the anticipated 5 million spectators — with 500,000 on "peak" days — will test the Bay Area's transportation network, sanitation systems and the environment during 50 days of racing.

The city also faces myriad challenges in preparing for the race, according to a new 1,400-page draft plan, including remaking much of the city's historic northern waterfront between the Bay Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf. Displaced will be a popular cabaret-style dinner theater, a wine warehouse and dozens of other businesses. Another challenge is providing spectator space along the water in this high density city.

City officials plan to open up environmentally sensitive parks such as Crissy Field, Fort Mason the city's Marina Green and Aquatic Park to spectators and provide miles of fencing and volunteer staff to protect the habitat from being trampled.

There are plans, too, to erect large-screen televisions screens in front of City Hall, the city's Union Square and Justin Herman Plaza...

full article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110716/WIRE/110719592/1350?Title=San-Francisco-planning-hurdles-begin-for-2013-America-s-Cup-

At nearly 2,200 pages long, the city's plan for the 34th America's Cup might leave the impression that things are shipshape and merely awaiting the rubber stamp of approval.

A variety of groups are ready to tell the city what they think is the best way to handle the roughly 1.5 million people expected to watch trial races in 2012 and the more than 5 million people who could turn out for the actual races in 2013 - as many as 500,000 of them on one "super peak" day.

Some could spread a blanket on Crissy Field, while others could watch on Jumbotrons in Union Square. Thousands of recreational boaters are expected to line the 4-square-mile race course in the middle of San Francisco Bay and others could take a ferry to Angel Island to watch the race from there.

No one doubts all those people will have an impact on the Bay Area, whether it is traffic jams, mounds of trash, lines of portable toilets or the $1.4 billion in economic activity the race is expected to generate. The question the city and various agencies are asking is how to deal with those impacts.

Additionally, more than 60 megayachts - super luxurious ships longer than 98 feet - are expected to anchor in the Bay Area. Many will come from foreign countries, meaning inspectors will have to guarantee they meet local safety and environmental standards, Bliven said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/16/BAND1KB5IA.DTL#ixzz1TCh2Iii5

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Not surprisingly, Marina Green turns out to be prime viewing for the America's Cup, and unlike it's neighbor to the west, Crissy Field, has no endangered species or Plover nesting grounds. And according to the DEIR, there are no plans for permanent changes, unlike some piers we know of. During the 2012 races, the big swath of lawn will be the site of the main America's Cup VIllage while Piers 27/29 get their makeovers. With the addition of a floating dock, the site will feature three big tents- one as big as 160x140 feet and 40 feet high- along with smaller tents for the usual suspects, food, toilets retail, and VIPs. Plus maybe a big-screen monitor or two and bleacher seating for 2000 paid spectators.

During the events, it appears that any enhanced mass transit will move along Lombard Street going west and east along Greenwich Street, and if you plan on driving, it's expected that all cars will be banned north of Lombard except for residents, members of the St. Francis and Golden Gate Yacht Clubs, and event-related vehicles. The DEIR is silent on access or parking for boat owners in the East and West Marinas who are not members of the two yacht clubs. And it looks like the entire area will be fenced. The plan shows three "entry gates" which are missing from the rendering, and there's no word on how long the Green's closure will be for construction, the races, and break-down. While the DEIR judges Marina Green to be a high-impact area, because the installations are temporary, there's no need for any mitigation. The DEIR does promise, however, that the lights will go off at 11PM.

http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2011/08/02/marina_green_leave_it_as_you_found_it_acup.php

San Francisco’s winning bid and subsequent preparations for the 2013 America’s Cup has reignited the torch that still burns among backers of the city’s ill-fated bid for the Olympic Games.

Could a successful America’s Cup be a springboard to landing the Olympics at last?

“I would say absolutely,” said Anne Cribbs, a former Olympic swimmer who has advocated bringing the Olympics to the Bay Area and for whom the torch never really went out. Pictures and video of America’s Cup yachts shooting across the San Francisco Bay, Cribbs said, “will emphasize the beauty of San Francisco. People love San Francisco all around the world,” she said. “It can only help any potential bid in the future.”

Cribbs was a lead organizer for the unsuccessful effort to bring the 2012 Summer Games to the Bay Area. San Francisco didn’t even make it out of the equivalent of the quarter-finals, with New York selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as the nation’s sole host bid. London ultimately edged out Paris for the gold medal.

But the desire to bring the Olympics to the Bay Area has not been extinguished. People like Jim Woolwine, chairman of Presidio Bank said: “There’s always a small group that is talking about it.”

Woolwine and others point out that there are myriad barriers to another Bay Area Olympic bid.

Chief among them: The United States is clearly not popular with the International Olympic Committee. Chicago suffered a humbling, first-round elimination in its 2016 Olympic bid, despite a personal pitch from President Barack Obama. Those games are going to Rio de Janeiro. Nor are U.S. cities on the dance card for 2014 or 2018. It could have to do with a financial issue between the U.S. Olympic Committee and the IOC, who disagree how to divvy up TV rights and global marketing profits.

But should that change, Bay Area backers said, the San Francisco region likely could assemble a standout bid — aided in part by America’s Cup sailing.
“With a good showing in the America’s Cup, I could see San Francisco and the Bay Area as the U.S. host,” said Jim Wunderman, CEO of the business-backed policy group Bay Area Council.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2011/08/americas-cup-has-sf-olympics.html?page=all

Organizers of the America’s Cup sailing competition in San Francisco in 2013 will broadcast different video and audio views of the races via YouTube .
Plans are to put cameras and microphones on board the catamarans as they race in the bay and to show the video via dedicated America’s Cup channels set up by San Bruno’s YouTube and also on the America’s Cup website. Different audio tracks will carry either standard sports commentary or analysis by sailing experts.

YouTube didn’t give any financial details of this agreement. The video sharing site is owned by Mountain View-based Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2011/08/12/americas-cup-to-broadcast-via-youtube.html

Message to America's Cup: Don't steal our bay

John King, Chronicle Urban Design Critic
Thursday, September 1, 2011

San Francisco -- The agency that guards our bay has a message for America's Cup organizers who want to park two dozen "superyachts" along Rincon Park on San Francisco's waterfront in 2013: not so fast.

"Filling this basin with large yachts ... would significantly impact the public's ability to enjoy the bay," reads the official response by the state's Bay Conservation and Development Commission to the draft environmental impact report for the fabled regatta. The comment period on the report closed on Aug. 25.

The letter also describes "this special place along the San Francisco waterfront" as the only downtown stretch that combines "space for play, quiet contemplation, viewing the bay and other activities."

These are strong words from the agency with final say over an event expected to attract more than 200,000 people a day to watch catamarans slice across the bay. They're also a powerful reason for city leaders and the organizers of the 34th America's Cup to fine-tune the plans now in the works - before support for the entire event is threatened.

The fate of the open water at Rincon Park has emerged as a flash point because the plan, as it now stands, sacrifices the park's spacious vistas to create a sort of private lagoon for people on yachts ranging in size from 100 to 265 feet.

These aren't the vessels that would launch from the America's Cup Village at Pier 27 on race days and be based at Piers 30-32 in between. Instead, the quarter-mile of open harbor between Piers 14 and 22 1/2 would be reserved for yachts too big to fit into existing city marinas.

The result could be a floating white wall on non-race days during the 2013 America's Cup; the docking plan in the draft environmental report shows the yachts berthed with their sterns facing shore. Since the largest superyachts can reach 40 feet in width and height, these are not diminutive derrieres.
But wait, there's more

The agreement between the city and the America's Cup Event Authority also gives the authority the right to develop the basin as a recreational marina if the temporary berths require dredging. The draft environment report takes dredging as a given, and estimates the now-open basin could hold 425 sailboat slips post-Cup.

All this runs counter to a 2000 agreement between the BCDC and the Port of San Francisco regarding the waterfront from China Basin north to Pier 35. In it, the two agencies agree to designate four "open water basins" as part of overall public access to the bay. Rincon Point, part of the park between Piers 14 and 22 1/2, has the strongest protections of the four because its curved shoreline allows unique perspectives on both the skyline and the Bay Bridge.

That was then. And now?

The BCDC - which must approve any revisions to the 2000 agreement - states in its Aug. 25 letter that changes to the current rules hinge on Cup organizers "eliminating or reducing the number of private, spectator yachts in the Rincon Point Open Water Basin." The agency then suggests other spots where big boats could be moored. The open basin at the foot of Broadway is one possibility, as is the area around the Agricultural Building north of Pier 14. A handful of yachts could berth along the north edge of Rincon Point basin, so long as they're not directly in front of the park.

All this is in addition to space the plan also earmarks for superyacht berths, such as one side of Pier 27 at America's Cup Village. Regulators are comfortable with that location, since that's where the action will be.
True access for all

In other words, the BCDC isn't out to kill the fun. As its letter states, "The AC34 events are expected to be wonderful for people to see and enjoy." Nor is this a class issue, as some event supporters suggest. If it was, the bid to host the Cup wouldn't have won a unanimous vote of support from the city's Board of Supervisors.

The only comment from America's Cup officials this week was a statement from chief operating officer Tom Huston that "we believe that the public process will make for a better event" and that the authority will use the 2,200 pages of comments (!) to the draft report in "working toward plans that respect our neighbors and mitigate our impact."

Let's hope so, starting with the end of any push for a commercial marina at Rincon Point.

Volume of comments aside, there's a sense that all but the most ardent environmentalists and spiteful obstructionists want to see the Cup take place. The issue is balance.

Even if America's Cup is the city's main attraction in the summer of 2013, it shouldn't have the entire waterfront to itself. Many of us will be enjoying the spectacle. Other people will want to enjoy the bay without a fuss. They have that right, too.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/31/BADQ1KTOND.DTL#ixzz1WjoG7HTx

From http://socketsite.com/

The Latest America’s Cup Race Venue Renderings

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/787/ac34renderingpiers2729.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/ac34renderingpiers2729.jpg/)

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/1271/ac34renderingpiers3032.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/440/ac34renderingpiers3032.jpg/)

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/2319/ac34renderingmarinagree.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/ac34renderingmarinagree.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2012/03/23/ba-cup24_PH1_SFC0107397764.jpg


It may be the Mount Everest of sailing, but expectations are shrinking for the America's Cup's transformative impact on San Francisco.

Sailing's premier race, coming to the city in 2013, is now scheduled to have fewer competitors, fewer event facilities and no direct investment from race organizers into long-term infrastructure on the waterfront, according to officials and a new city report.

The latest cut came Friday when the Event Authority, the regatta's business arm, laid off 28 workers - about a quarter of the staff - from information technology, marketing and communications. Fourteen positions were in San Francisco, and the others in offices around the world, race officials said.

"We're having expenses match the revenues as much as we can, and a number of people will be leaving as a result," said Stephen Barclay, who took over the Event Authority as interim CEO this week in an organizational shakeup.

The America's Cup, led by billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, initially planned to spend $111 million on repairing deteriorating piers the city has not been able to afford to fix for decades. But race officials backed away from that cornerstone agreement last month.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/23/BAEA1NPGHS.DTL#ixzz1q0vsGJWh

^^I'm actually getting more comfortable with a smaller event. I never liked the idea of handing over large parts of the waterfront to Ellison for the long term. Nor did I like handing over Crissey Field even for the short term.

Rather than a grand event, we could end up with a nice exciting sailing race which is better for us and better for the America's Cup. In the old days, they certainly didn't rebuild half of Newport every few years for these races. There's no reason they should do anything similar to San Francisco.

Very very cool

:okay:

Pier 27 will be home to San Francisco's new cruise ship terminal. This artist's rendering shows what the facility will look like.

Mayor Ed Lee said construction can begin on the site because city supervisors last week approved the environmental impact report for the terminal and 2013 America’s Cup.

The plan for Pier 27 calls for an existing shed to be largely demolished. The America’s Cup will then use the site to house its America’s Cup Village, a gathering place where race fans can view the tournament, shop and eat.
After the conclusion of the America’s Cup in 2013, the city will take over Pier 27 and complete the new cruise ship terminal.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2012/01/31/san-francisco-new-cruise-ship-terminal.html

http://www.cupinfo.com/images/ac34-sf-pier27-29-render-0001-1.jpg

http://assets.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/Pier%2027.jpg?v=3