A “Plan B” proposal for hosting the next America’s Cup in San Francisco would shift the public view areas a couple miles north from Piers 30-32 to Piers 27-29 and eliminate the use of Piers 48 and 50 in order to “save the city and race organizers money while giving spectators a better view of the action.”
A report from the Board of Supervisors’ budget analyst released Thursday found that the city’s direct cost of hosting the Cup would be $42.1 million. There is also an estimated $86.2 million in lost revenue for granting development rights and free leases of up to 75 years for parcels of waterfront property to race organizers, led by billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.
Besides the $128.3 million hit to city coffers, which could grow to $143 million with financing, the report found that hosting the weeks of races would boost local businesses, pumping an estimated $1.2 billion into the city’s economy.
Newsom’s office, though, contends [the budget analyst’s] figures don’t factor in $32 million that an America’s Cup Organizing Committee of civic and business leaders have pledged to raise to help defray city costs, nor do the projections for development revenue account for the decrepit shape of the piers now under consideration for race facilities.
Eliminating Pier 48 from the proposal would also eliminate a potential conflict with the proposed development of Seawall 337 (the current Giants Parking Lot A).
Nothing says “Pick me! Pick me!” like second guessing your bid after it’s been submitted and before there’s any feedback, cuz what everyone is looking for is uncertainty.
Does anybody really think that any development will actually be done on Seawall lot 337 prior to the America’s Cup in 2013? It’s essentially 2011 now. If I remember the renderings correctly, the America’s Cup buildout is the piers only, not the current parking area? No?
And I’m guessing that the Giants will be a really hot ticket at least for next season, and I’m sure nobody wants to loose prime parking for maximum crowds which is currently Seawall 337. So now we’re talking 2012 (twelve months or less before the race) before the Seawall could even have a shovel of asphalt turned.