Assistant Project Director for America's Cup in San Francisco Gives Presentation to Alameda's AC34 Committee

Adam Van de Water, the Assistant Project Director for the 34th America's Cup, City and County of San Francisco, gave a presentation to Alameda's AC34 Committee and members of the public last Thursday at City Hall West.

Mr. Van de Water began with background of the event and the 11 implementation plans that staff is working on -- everything from environmental impact and sustainability (AC34 is supposed to be zero-waste and carbon neutral) to transit, the "people plan," and anti-ambush marketing. There are currently about 85 full-time people working on planning for the event at the City and County if you include the 15 at the Port of San Francisco.

The Louis Vuitton Challengers Cup will take place on San Francisco Bay from the 4th of July through September 1, 2013, followed by the main event September 7-22, 2013. The final event could end early if there is a sweep, as it is a best of 9. These races will be preceded on San Francisco Bay by the America's Cup World series throughout August of 2012.

This will be the first time in the history of the America's Cup where the race will be easily visible from land. The course is along San Francisco's northern waterfront with prime (and free) viewing from Crissy Field and the Marina Green (very similar with what you expect at Fleet Week.) While Fleet Week gets over 1.5 million visitor over the course of a weekend, AC34 is expected to see about that many for the AC World Series in 2012 and then 5.5 million spectators over the course of 2 months in 2013. A peak, sunny weekend day can expect 500,000 spectators.

There will also be jumbotrons set up in several locations (Event Live Sites) on the Marina Green, Crissy Field, Aquatic Park, Pier 27, Justin Herman Plaza, Union Square, and Civic Center Plaza. There are currently no plans for an East Bay jumbotron but it's not out of the question. There is a decent possibility of a jumbotron at Treasure Island, which Mr. Van de Water described as a "second row" viewing spot.

So how does Alameda fit into all of this? It really depends on who you ask. Because the North Bay ferry access will at the very least be "challenged," ferry service from the East Bay is relatively unobstructed. Alameda's prime location indicates that it is a natural feeder to the event, and quite possibly THE gateway to America's Cup from the East Bay.

Alameda currently has 2 ferry terminals and lots of space for parking at Alameda Point. Mr. Van de Water hinted at the possibility that WETA (Water Emergency Transportation Authority) has disaster planning funds that could be used for ramping up ferry service during the events. It could be a disaster "dry run" in reverse.

Aside from our natural feeder status, it was unclear how Alameda could move forward assisting San Francisco. When asked how we could, Van de Water only offered up opportunities for local boats to volunteer for water patrol and sign up for AC34 Business Connect services. While his office will be responsive and helpful to our inquiries, it seems that Alameda is really going to have to create its own opportunities. While there is obviously a lot of overflow (San Francisco can't house everybody,) their planning is mostly San Francisco centric.