The push to race the 34th America's Cup on San Francisco Bay heated up as Mayor Gavin Newsom officially welcomed the Cup in a City Hall viewing before a large crowd inside the rotunda. Mayor Newsom said, "We are going to do whatever it takes to race here. It's not like we have to build a stadium - it already exists."

Larry Ellison remarked, "Our number one concern is for the teams and putting on a fair regatta. Our boat is from the Golden Gate YC though, so San Francisco is number one on our list." One of the hurdles would be the cost of building the team bases. "No taxpayer support should be needed, Just the land. By our calculations this could bring in one billion dollars in revenue for the city."

Newsom added that, "If you want to elevate the sport, bring it to San Francisco."

Television is a big part of BMW Oracle's plans, and the idea of a TV-friendly venue would be key. Ellison added, "More people watched the AC33 than ever before, but on the web. We have to make this Cup very TV-friendly. Number one, we have to pick a venue that has wind. San Francisco has that and more and would make a fabulous television experience."

Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW Oracle Racing, said the choice of boats is still up in the air. "We are looking at the most exciting designs, talking to everyone. I think the Bay would be able to handle even the most extreme of boats. We don't want to go backwards." Hopefully forward thinking will propel an exciting AC34 right here in town. 

According to the BMW Oracle Racing website, “On Sunday afternoon, the America’s Cup will head south to San Diego, where the team operated a training base for 16 months in 2008 and 2009. At 4:00 pm the America’s Cup will be on public display at the USS Midway museum on the city’s waterfront.

“Following a 5:00 pm ceremony with Mayor Jerry Sanders, the trophy and team will head to the San Diego YC on the replica of the yacht America, for which the trophy is named. A flotilla of San Diego boats will parade along with America for a sunset sail across San Diego Bay to former Cup holder San Diego Yacht Club.

“The homecoming tour may be extended to the East Coast of the United States the following week – details to come.” We’ll let you know when the Cup returns to San Francisco.

For more photos, see Rich Hudnut Jr.’s Picasa gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/rnutball/AmericasCup33#. For video from Sergei Zavarin, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_LFkPNftQM