Now that the contracts are signed to bring America’s Cup defender Alinghi to
Rhode Island waters in June, the pressure is on the ‘biggest little state’ to
show if it is capable of hosting a world-class sailing event and that it has
the business resources to pull it off.
At a Dec. 12 press conference in New York City, Team Alinghi announced that it would host the first ever UBS Trophy in Newport over seven days starting June 19, 2004. UBS, a worldwide Swiss-based financial firm, has agreed to be the event’s title sponsor. Regatta planners hope to attract four to five America’s Cup-caliber racing syndicates to compete.
Time and space will be at a premium that week as the City by the Sea will also be buzzing with the start of the Newport to Bermuda Race on June 18, in addition to the normal activities of the summer season.
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UBS is Alinghi’s sponsor and will primarily support all the on-water logistics of racing and coordinating television coverage.
It will be up to the state, Newport Shipyard and other entities such as the Marine Trade Association under the auspices of the Rhode Island Sailing Foundation to secure the dollars to help defray the costs of dock activities, crew facilities, infrastructure changes and entertainment.
Townsend Goddard, of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, said the state has approached the entire event in partnership with Alinghi.
The local sponsors, says Charlie Dana, president and majority owner of the Newport Shipyard, will help to keep the shipyard and state whole and help cover their investments.
“Last week was obviously a huge boost for us,” said Dana. “Now we are off and running.”
With the major contract signed, the next step is to secure local sponsors. While he is in the process of identifying potential sponsors, along with the RIEDC and trade association, Dana “has a hunch (the event) will be very popular.”
“The minute they see what sponsors are coming to town, they can’t refuse,” he said.
In addition to securing sponsors, Goddard said the RIEDC in the coming months will be focusing on marine and non-marine business-development opportunities.
On the non-marine side, the hospitality industry is expected to see a boost in business. Also, RIEDC wants to take the opportunity to show off the state to visiting national and international sponsors.
“We want to present to them why they should consider Rhode Island for their next expansion or for doing business in general,” said Goddard. In the coming months, RIEDC plans to strategize with state business leaders across various sectors.
Since the fall of 2002, state officials and private business leaders have been courting the Swiss-based Team Alinghi and pitching the Ocean State as the place to be for international sailing. Sailing in Rhode Island also helps Alinghi with its effort in gearing up for the 2007 America’s Cup.
“One of the primary differences (from previous Cup winners) is that we would like to avoid the lapse in sailing between Cup events,” said Peter Holmberg, Alinghi helmsman, during the press event regarding why the syndicate is organizing additional regattas. “For sailors, we don’t want a five-year lapse between when we go on the water and test ourselves. For the sponsors, they want to keep the game and the interest alive. (And) the public just doesn’t want to hear about the Cup just once every five years.”
Another of Alinghi’s goals is to change the format of Cup racing to make it more accessible to the public so that they can actually see it, not only on television, but so that it is there and the public can interact with it, Holmberg said.
The race committee intends to stage short windward/leeward courses off Fort Adams. Alinghi has targeted the fort as a prime area for spectator viewing and intends to create a ‘maritime village’ type atmosphere that is appealing for families to watch the races and learn about sailing.
“We’ve planted the seed that (Fort Adams) is the ultimate viewing location,” said Goddard. He envisions not only onshore sailing displays but also organizations like Save The Bay, too.
“It’s a perfect location and you can get wind from several directions, the public is able to come and go with other sailing craft. The public onshore can (sit) all along the coast from many different viewpoints – it’s a fantastic area,” said Holmberg about the fort.
Newport Shipyard is going to be the base for the boats competing.
“It’s a nice new facility, very close to the racing course, where the public will be able to easily see the boats and surrounding activity,” said Holmberg.
In an effort to get ready for the May 15 setup and possible arrival of Larry Ellison’s Oracle boat, Dana said a shipyard building will need to be demolished to make room for dry docking and areas will need to be expanded for public access. Dana is hoping once the event is over, to rebuild the demolished building.
Michael Keyworth, of the Rhode Island Maritime Trade Association, has offered to help expedite local sponsorship relationships and opportunities.
“This will be an opportunity for the (local) industry to show off its wares,” he said. He foresees a need for charter services to transport VIPs to the racecourse and motorized mark boats, among other items during the week. “We want to help the shipyard, too, and make the event easy to handle.”
Keyworth says his goal is to help do the event well enough so that Alinghi or others will want to return.
“I feel the state and shipyard are very much together on this,” said Dana. “I consider this a wonderful collaboration. Put one event on and more will come our way.”
As the race week approaches, more details will be released regarding the race format, start times and land-based events.
