Although it
has been popular internationally, The Americas Cup has never been a major draw
for spectators and yachting enthusiasts in the United States.
Now with
race being hosted in the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time, taking
place over several weeks in Summer and Autumn of 2013 the people of San
Francisco and the outlying counties are banking on hopes that that will change,
and that hundreds of thousands of people will come to San Francisco to view the
event.
Port of
Redwood City Director Mike Giari and Harbour Master Rich Ferrari told Katie Worth a reporter with the San Francisco Examiner that superyachts will be
welcome at the port of Redwood City and neighbouring harbours.
Port leaders
are exploring ways to attract yachts to their harbour during the America’s Cup
sailing race. It’s just one of several San Mateo County institutions seeking
ways to profit off the event.
If all goes
as county leaders hope, the international sailing event will help fill county
hotels and bayside marinas to capacity, and bring business to fishermen turned
ferrymen.
An early
economic study by Beacon Economics estimated that the event could bring some
$1.4 billion in economic activity to the region — just more than half of which
would be spent in San Francisco.
“Our job is
to put visitors in hotel rooms, and of course have them dining locally and
spending money locally,” Anne LeClair, president of the San Mateo
County/Silicon Valley Conventions and Visitors Bureau said.
With San
Francisco hotels already filling up, those nearby must position themselves to
take the overflow — and not just of race visitors, but of anyone who finds it
difficult or costly to secure a hotel room in the City.
County
marinas also are hoping to fill their vacancies with mariners who witness the
action from the water, said Peter Grenell, general manager of the San Mateo
County Harbor District, which operates Oyster Point Harbor Marina in South San
Francisco.
“Oyster
Point is currently 77 percent occupied, so if we can increase that occupancy,
that would be a good thing,” Grenell said. “A lot of the other harbors — if not
all of them — are thinking along similar lines.”
That is
exactly what Redwood City port director Mike Giari is thinking — only on a very
large scale.
“We have
some berths that would be able to accommodate boats in the 100-foot to 250-foot
category,” he said.
Giari noted
there has been controversy in San Francisco about whether to allow such mega-yachts
to moor on the public waterfront. No such controversy would exist at his port.
The county’s
fishermen and charter boat operators may also make a buck off the event,
Grenell said. Some fishermen and charter operators have expressed interest in
ferrying visitors up to San Francisco, or securing charters to take people to
see the event up close.
“Right now,
Oyster Point doesn’t have any charter boats, but I’ve spoken with some folks
from Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay and it’s conceivable they may want to come
over to Oyster Point for a while,” he said. “They’re definitely following the
whole America’s Cup buildup.
