Event Authority

America's Cup: Who's on the Hook for Private Fund-Raisers' $5 Million Loan?

For those who may or may not enjoy watching syndicates of wealthy men race boats on the bay -- but definitely don't want the city to lose money on the deal -- this has been a beguiling week. New projections put the expected public and private benefits of hosting the America's Cup way down from prior ... More >>

America's Cup: A Novel Take on Vastly Scaled-Back Expectations

Most San Franciscans picking up the paper the day after the Super Bowl would be reading sad headlines about the 49ers' agonizing loss. That's bad. But, hypothetically, those headlines could have noted that the city had been spared an expensive and destructive post-win riot. That's ... good? This is ... More >>

America's Cup: John Avalos Says "All the Members of the Board of Supervisors Were F**king Played"

News broke over the weekend that the America's Cup Organizing Committee, a private group tasked with fundraising to offset the race's public costs, is struggling mightily. Logically, public money not offset by private funds is simply public money expended -- in this case on a yacht race thrown by on ... More >>

America's Cup Considering New York City For August Race; NYC Surprised to Hear of It

​The America's Cup will grace San Francisco not once, not twice, but thrice, citizens were promised: before  catamarans race for the main Cup currently held by Larry Ellison's Oracle team in 2013, there will be smaller World Series races in October and in August, according to plans the race e ... More >>

America's Cup: Rollout of the "We Screwed Up!" Storyline Under Way

​The San Francisco Chronicle today continued to thump the tub Supervisor Mark Farrell and others wheeled out last week. It's the "San Francisco and its Board of Supervisors screwed up the America's Cup deal because we're an insufferable, NIMBY city that ruins everything" tub.Well, we are pretty in ... More >>

America's Cup: NBC Not Paying Anything for TV Deal

​The America's Cup is the Super Bowl of yacht racing -- but it's certainly not the Super Bowl of television rights fees. Networks fork over billions for the privilege of airing pro sports like football and their lucrative postseason championships. Yet, tucked away in today's AP story about NBC obt ... More >>

America's Cup: Deal Nearly Funded Race with Pricey Condos

America's Cup: Rancor Over Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! Easier than Real Analysis

​With the pricey former America's Cup deal now residing in the vicinity of Davy Jones' Locker, it's high time for the types of folks who comment frequently on the SFGate webpage to decry San Francisco blowing a "golden opportunity" for some "economic revitalization." Supervisor Mark Farrell -- als ... More >>

America's Cup: What the Hell Just Happened?

​In around an hour's time, the Board of Supervisors would have likely approved a sprawling America's Cup development plan that would have committed the city to reimbursing Larry Ellison's Event Authority up to $136 million -- perhaps into the 22nd century. Instead, the city and race organizers yes ... More >>

America's Cup Decimated: City May Save More Than $100 Million

​The term "decimated" isn't often meant literally -- but, this time, it is. The city and America's Cup Event Authority called a rather hasty press conference today, and announced the scope of construction work surrounding the forthcoming boat race will be massively scaled back.While the deal that ... More >>

America's Cup: Showdown Set for Today

​Nautical metaphors and strife are on the agenda this afternoon for the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee hearing. The supes will, for a second time, discuss the evolving America's Cup deal. The development agreement for the Cup is due for an up or down vote by the entire board on ... More >>

The Cup Runneth Over: S.F.'s America's Cup Decision Looms

America's Cup: Ball Is Now in City Attorney's Court

The material everyone wants to have...​What are "material changes?" The answer is not immaterial.In tweaking the America's Cup agreement signed off by the Board of Supervisors, the mayor's office was entitled to make changes -- but not material changes.After analyzing the revamped deal, the board' ... More >>

America's Cup: Gavin Newsom's Changes to Deal 'Could Be Very Significant'

What's it going to cost, Gavin?​At a late January America's Cup press conference, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom said something a bit odd regarding the city's dramatically hammered-out deal to host the race: "We made a lot of promises. A lot of them have been reported. Candidly, a lot of them ha ... More >>

How Chris Daly saved San Francisco from a bad America's Cup deal

America's Cup: Mayor May Make Large, Long-Lasting Changes to Deal

Will Larry Ellison be San Francisco's Santa? Or the Grinch?​While the pulse of San Francisco's chances to land the America's Cup may be sliding toward demise, the offer the city put before Larry Ellison and the cup organizers is very much a living document. The "final agreement" bid unanimously ap ... More >>

America's Cup: How City Would End Up On the Hook for $55 Million

​During a lengthy Wednesday hearing regarding the America's Cup -- which was far less thrilling than a yachting race and had far more nautically themed public comment -- the city's budget analyst made an emphatic point. Based on the "Northern Waterfront Alternative" plan which is currently en vogu ... More >>

America's Cup: Regatta Argument Sails Into Next Week

Onward...​A new plan for hosting the America's Cup was today emphatically blessed by Port of San Francisco officials as the best deal the city could get. Yet the city's Budget Analyst warned that even under these "best" terms, the city could still end up giving away some $55 million to billionaire ... More >>

America's Cup: Budget Analyst Says It'll Still Lose City $101 Million

Vincent Van GoghWill the latest report take the wind out of the city's sails? ​The latest Budget and Legislative Analyst's report analyzing the potential costs and benefits of hosting the America's Cup regatta has finally hit dry land. But, crunching the numbers, the city's numerical mavens still ... More >>

Cost-Saving America's Cup Proposal Not Shipshape Yet

Don't fire up the boats yet...​The new-and-improved groundwork for hosting the America's Cup in San Francisco appears to take much less of a bite of city finances than the fabulously expensive, nonbinding "term sheet" the city approved in October. Fred Brousseau, a principal at the city's Budget A ... More >>

Hosting America's Cup Would Lose City Millions, Budget Analyst Reports

Them boats is expensive​Earlier this week we reported that the city's budget analyst was at work on a report to answer the big question: Can you actually make money hosting the America's Cup? The report is out, and, according to the city's official number-cruncher, the answer is no. A resounding n ... More >>