Newport Sounds Awfully Positive About America's Cup

America's Cup decision due by Dec. 31.

Just weeks ago San Francisco seemed to have the bid to get the next America's Cup all sewn up, but now the option to bring it to Newport, Rhode Island seems to be gaining steam just days before the decision is supposed to be made.

An announcement is supposed to be made by Dec. 31. Italy is also in the running.

The Golden Gate Yacht Club and the BMW Oracle Racing team will make the call because the team lead by Silicon Valley CEO Larry Ellison won the last cup. 

The Associated Press reported that Rhode Island's top economic development official said Sunday that representatives of BMW Oracle Racing and Golden Gate Yacht Club spent the last week in Rhode Island.  Rhode Island's economic development corporation's executive director, Keith Stokes, told AP Sunday that "everything we've presented has resonated very strongly with them. "I think we've come up with several options that are pretty compelling." Stokes said. 
 
Among the things working in Newport's favor is the fact that it has hosted two races in the past and the cost to get the area America's Cup ready is a fraction of what it would take to come to the City.

San Francisco's bid got wobbly earlier this month when the contract was deemed too financially risky for the America's Cup Event Authority. The San Francisco's Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a revised host agreement, but the GGYC hasn't accepted it yet.

Not everyone is a fan of the idea of hosting the cup here. Some have expressed concerns about the City giving up leasing rights to waterfront property, while the City banks on it bringing a cash-infusion into San Francisco in 2013.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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