Alameda buoyed by landing yacht team
Island city says old naval base has room for 3 more
“The America’s Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and we are at ground zero. Or at least 2.7 miles from it.”
Marie Gilmore, Alameda mayor
Waterfront cities around the East Bay are busy trying to lure America’s Cup teams, but so far Alameda has the most wind in its sails.
The island city landed one of the biggest America’s Cup teams, Artemis Racing from the Royal Swedish Yacht Club, and is mobilizing to attract more.
“If you ask how many America’s Cup teams do we want, the answer is, we want them all,” said Kame Richards, owner of Pineapple Sails in Alameda. “San Francisco is a perfectly wonderful city, but … Alameda is a perfect fit for this.”
In late May, Artemis signed a one-year, $20,000-per-month lease, effective immediately, for a former airplane hangar at the old Naval Air Station. The hangar is spacious enough to house the monstrous 72-foot catamarans used in the race and is adjacent to Seaplane Lagoon, an easy 2.7-mile sail from San Francisco’s Ferry Building.
Along with the boats, Artemis is bringing 70 families who will decamp to Alameda as well as fans and tourists for America’s Cup World Series events leading up to the main race in September 2013.
No one’s sure what the exact windfall will be for Alameda, but regionally the America’s Cup is expected to bring in more than $1 billion, according to the Bay Area Council and America’s Cup organiz-
ers.
That figure doesn’t include the international exposure, which officials throughout the Bay Area hope will entice millions of future tourists.
Alameda is not done with its America’s Cup. The city has room at the defunct Navy base for at least three other teams, and has one of the state’s largest sailing communities lobbying in its favor.
The city has eight marinas and 3,400 sailboat slips, the secondlargest conglomeration of sailboats in the state behind Marina Del Rey (Los Angeles County). It’s also home to countless boatyards, maritime suppliers, sailmakers, engine shops, two ferry terminals and other nautical-related businesses.
Some of the city’s most avid sailors and business owners sit on the city’s America’s Cup committee. “We’re even getting the landlubbers involved,” said Christopher Seiwald, committee chair.
But Alameda has some competition. Richmond and Oakland are also vying for America’s Cup teams and related businesses.
Deepwater access
Like Alameda, both cities have large vacant warehouses — at their respective commercial ports — and easy waterfront access. They also both have active sailing communities.
“We have a lot of space and good deepwater access to the bay,” said Richmond City Councilman Tom Butt, adding that rents in Richmond are likely to be cheaper than those in Alameda or San Francisco.
America’s Cup facilities would be at the Port of Richmond’s Terminal One, which is currently vacant and adjacent to the Richmond Yacht Club, heart of the city’s sailing community.
Another bonus is its proximity to affordable family housing at the nearby Marina Bay development, said Mark Howe, chair of the city’s America’s Cup committee.
“We’re not San Francisco, but we have a great location and a tremendous sailing community,” he said.
In Oakland, officials are trying to lure a team to a warehouse near Jack London Square, which is on the waterfront and likely has better freeway, airport and public transit access than any other potential America’s Cup site in the Bay Area.
“San Francisco can’t handle it all. It’s going to take the entire region to host an event of this magnitude, and we are excited to be a part of it,” said Samee Roberts, Oakland’s marketing director.
In addition, Oakland is considering waterfront festivals along the estuary and Lake Merritt, viewing parties and promotion of its restaurant, hotel and cultural scene, which is among the most popular in the Bay Area.
Lively waterfront
Oakland also has a lively waterfront entertainment district at Jack London Square, with a slew of restaurants, parks, theaters and hotels as well as marinas.
But Alameda, with its vast, mostly vacant former base property and plethora of harbors, might be tough to beat.
“The America’s Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and we are at ground zero,” said Alameda Mayor Marie Gilmore. “Or at least 2.7 miles from it.”