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Everyone who cares about the oldest trophy in professional sport wants to know, whats next? Will the Cup stay in "Mean Old Frisco" or will Larry's team pull stakes and seek better offers.
Here's what we have learned thus far.
1) San Francisco had 90 days to make their pitch, and according to SF Port Spokeswoman Renee-Dunn Martin, "High level negotiations are going on right now between multiple parties," including SF Port Staff, The Mayors Office, The conglomeration which is Oracle Racing, ACEA, ACRM, which we shall just call Octopi San Fran, (Mr Ellison's Holding Corporation is Octopus Holdings LLC, so we will work with that) The Warriors, The Local Unions are believe to be involved.
When asked what could or would be available facility wise in 2016-2017 Mrs Dunn-Martin indicated that "Nothings off the table". Which lead to more direct questions.
What about Pier 27-29? "The phase 2 portion of construction on Pier 27 -29 begins in November. The piers should be fully operational for the cruise industry vendors by Fall 2014" The Piers worked well within the confines of this cycle of the America's Cup, but could they get pressed into service for the next cycle? "It's quite possible in some capacity, especially the North West Plaza. It's all being negotiated"
Would not the Cruise Ships control the pier? Again, everything is up for negotiation and the possibility of the cruise ships using other piers for loading and unloading during the height of any Louis Vuitton or AC events is possible.
Okay then, how about Piers 30-32? Won't the Warriors be playing basketball in their newstadium then? Again Mrs Dunn Martin was not committed to certainty with that project. apparently the proposed Warriors Arena is still under negotiation, and with all things San Francisco, due to lengthy delays in progress. It's still feasible the crumbling pier's could still be available for a temporary hosting position in 2016-2017.
Pier 80? " The lease with "Octopi SF" ends at the end of the year. Octopi SF's Lease at Piers 23 and 19 terminate at end of this month and the remaining gear and offices will be transported to Pier 80 for short term. In case you did not know, the offices located on Piers 23 were all built in shipping containers, and can be relocated and redeployed easily.
Pier 80 can host those offices and skeleton crew for short term without much pain.
If Octopi SF opts to renew a lease on Pier 80, one would expect all their assets would stay there until other options open up.
One option could be Alameda's Seaport Lagoon.
According to sources close to the negotiation process between the City of Alameda,Artemis Racing, and sailing interests, planning and negotiation continues. The Waterfront Town Center proposed as the cornerstone of the redevelopment plans at Alameda Point
See Draft Plans
The city council is scheduled to finalize their vote on the projects approval next month. There is a massive amount of infrastructure work to be done earthwise with global warming/projected sea rise inundation concerns, drainage, earthquake and tsunami concerns. And while the city does not want to delay progress on the redevelopment process that has been nearly 2 decades in the making, there is a possibility of using the "Taxi Way" along the lagoons eastern edge as a host camp for syndicates, and putting some of the long term teams into some of the vacated buildings near the lagoon.
Artemis Racing was 1st to occupy one of the available hangars from the city. While it had adequate space for the team, the facility is circa 1940's, complete with seismic concerns, standard issue asbestos and lead in abundance, the mitigation of these hazards will need to be dealt with before any long term leases. The space Artemis is currently occupying has been offered up for a longer term, more expensive lease. Artemis themselves are looking at other potential available buildings for the short term for their primary base, the old Nelson's being a serious contender.
It leaves a lot to ponder.
And What About Lanai?