Photo, almost for sure, by Gilles Martin-Raget during training in San Diego
By: BERNIE WILSON,Associated Press
The chances of the next America’s Cup being sailed with a backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the Coit Tower improved dramatically Tuesday.
City officials finalized a host city agreement with the Golden Gate Yacht Club, which backs America’s Cup defender BMW Oracle Racing. The agreement quickly was submitted to the Board of Supervisors, which must approve it. Six of the 11 supervisors are co-sponsors of the agreement.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 on Oct. 5 to approve a term sheet that was a precursor to a host city agreement. The city pledged in the term sheet to help raise $270 million from corporate sponsors to help defray the costs of staging the regatta.
“I think this is more than significant,” said Tom Ehman, a spokesman for the GGYC and member of its America’s Cup Committee. “It’s a big step forward for the 34th edition of the Cup. There can be no better venue for sailing than San Francisco Bay. Personally, I and the GGYC are very excited by the prospects and delighted with this latest development.”
Mayor Gavin Newsom agreed.
Read more at the Washington Examiner and at Kimball Livingston’s Blue Planet Times.