Critics of the America’s Cup in San Francisco point to the costs and downplay the benefits to the city.
Lies, damn lies and statistics
A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle bore the headline “America’s Cup cost to S.F. more than doubles.” Supervisor John Avalos, a strong critic of the event, requested the report. San Francisco’s budget analyst revised his report on the cost to the city of the America’s Cup, showing a total cost of $11.5 million, almost double the amount in his original December report. The revision added $5.5 million of costs to the Port of San Francisco to the $6 million from the city’s general fund. The Port’s expenses are covered by rent from port properties. City general fund expenses are covered by taxes.
Not surprisingly, supporters of the event tend to talk about the benefits but not the costs. On the website of the Bay Area Council, a business sponsored policy advocacy organization, we find a report stating that San Francisco received as much as $7.8 million in tax revenue related to the America’s Cup. The Bay Area Council study also reports up to $550 million in local economic activity including $280 million in direct spending by the teams.
Wisdom of the sports editor
The Chronicle’s sports editor, Al Saracevic doesn’t try to sort out the dueling statistics, saying, “The bottom line: San Francisco should strike a fair deal with Coutts and his Oracle team. It might have cost the city money, in terms of free rent and utility connections, but there was trickle-down economic impact throughout the city. If the Oracle team acts on the lessons learned in 2013, it should be smoother sailing.” Saracevic noted, “There were thousands of people on the shores of San Francisco screaming their heads off for a sailboat race. That had never happened before.”
Read more (SF Gate – sports article)