The latest race route for the 2013 America's Cup with San Francisco viewing areas. Click to enlarge. [Image Credit ©America's Cup Event Authority]
They're not due to vote until until February 28, but today the Board of Supervisors' Budget Committee will continue to discuss the fate of the sporting event/real estate deal we know as the 34th America's Cup Race. It used to be about rich amateurs sailing hand-crafted boats- today's sailors are well-compensated professionals- and the game has been transformed almost single-handedly by Larry Ellison into a high-stakes and hi-tech extreme sport. And a real estate deal. In a process unprecedented in the history of the race, the interests of the sponsoring team have become intertwined with a revenue-producing real estate deal which, threatening to severely dull any fun that might have been had. Topping it off, the non-profit private group tasked with raiding funds to offset city expenses has languished, probably in part due to the fund-raising juggernaut that is SFMOMA's new addition. SF Weekly has a quick, cogent update on what's going on, with Pier 29 being the biggest sticking point in the negotiations, closely followed by future revenues to the city.
· America's Cup: Showdown Set For Today [SF Weekly]
· America's Cup Coverage [Curbed SF Archives]