AC34 Finance News
America’s Cup lays off 28 people, race officials say
The business arm of the America’s Cup laid off a quarter of its staff Friday, the latest sign the premiere sailing competition has dramatically scaled back its presence — and budget — in San Francisco.
The America’s Cup Event Authority laid off 28 people, 14 of them in the San Francisco office and the other 14 in offices around the world, race officials said. They worked in the information technology, marketing and communications departments. Read more »
New America's Cup move - partially fix Piers 30-32
A revised America's Cup deal calls for the port to spend up to $8 million to partially refurbish Piers 30-32 - a crumbling slice of waterfront that, just a few weeks ago, looked as if it might never be fixed.
The plan, submitted to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, is a marked departure from the original conditions under which the city would host the sailing competition, which begins with the exhibition races this summer and culminates in the finals next year. Read more »
Board of Supervisors blew America's Cup deal
Piers 30-32 on the Embarcadero are big, flat, money pits. Estimates just to tear down the sprawling, decaying parking lots run to $40 million.
To update them - drive new pilings and make them safe - would cost $80 million-$100 million. Read more »
Chasing the Cup Out of Town
Christopher Caen has a great piece on the Huffington Post about the big deal that fell through in San Francisco. Read more »
America's Cup deal change is lost opportunity
San Francisco now has a downsized and diminished stake in hosting the America's Cup yacht race. Gone is a guarantee to turn a crumbling set of piers into a front-porch home base for the high-tech racers on the Embarcadero.
Risk and uncertainty - part of ocean racing and real estate deal making - are producing a scaled-down agreement between the city and cup organizers. Race organizers sought the change, just a day before a vote to approve the original deal by the Board of Supervisors, and caught city negotiators by surprise.
In an instant, a $100 million-plus event dropped to a sailing race with a budget of $15 million. Read more »
