On KQED Radio's Forum program today: a discussion on the growing concerns that the America's Cup deal might not be such a hot one for San Francisco after all.
Guests included Aaron Peskin, David Chiu and writer Joe Eskenazi, who wrote a cover story for this week's SF Weekly.
The show is archived here.
In the mean time, you can read Eskenazi's cover story on the topic here. From the article...
(T)he status of the boat race is not on solid ground. In the next two weeks, the city and race organizers will tussle over the long-term development ramifications tied to the America's Cup, culminating in a Board of Supervisors vote scheduled for the end of the month. The impact of that vote can't be overstated: San Francisco will decide whether the Cup will be tossed alongside the Burnham Plan in the "What if?" file, or whether it will impose a transformative impact along the city's waterfront for generations to come...
In the last month, the city has quietly downgraded the anticipated number of visitors the event will draw and the tally of spectator boats that will line the waterfront. Millions in private fundraising the city had already assumed in its overall budget has not been delivered — and, last week, the city's budget analyst estimated the logistical costs of holding the event here are now 65 percent higher than previously assumed. Race officials, meanwhile, have denied reports that the number of participating teams will be barely enough to fill a medal stand.
The amount the Port of San Francisco now anticipates it will reimburse to the America's Cup Event Authority — the organization Ellison formed to oversee the race — is double the estimate used when calculating a roughly break-even proposal a year ago. And the anticipated costs of constructing a magnificent new cruise ship terminal on Pier 27 — which would also serve as the centerpiece of the America's Cup — have effectively doubled as well. These costs will either be reimbursed to Cup organizers by the port — or borne by the city and port alone. Full article