EDITORIAL San Francisco's not going to lose the America's Cup. Oracle CEO and yachting billionaire Larry Ellison is too excited about the prospect of bringing the sport (and his company's logo on the sail of his boat) to a mass audience for the first time in history that he's not about to abandon San Francisco Bay. The process is too far along; that much is a done deal.
But the development agreements for the city's waterfront is not a done deal at all — in fact, the proposal could wind up giving Ellison effective control over five piers and a valuable waterfront lot that he could develop for condos. And the city won't get anywhere near enough out of the deal.
The development agreement is really just a sideshow in the cup planning; nobody's arguing that Ellison's America's Cup Event Authority will need space to stage the race, and that will require the renovation of some waterfront property. And nobody disputes that the event will bring tourism and revenue to the city, which will offset some of the cost of allowing Ellison rights to the waterfront. Read more »
