environmental organizations, the labor leaders, to our extraordinary staff, the city attorney's office that worked so diligently on this, and every single member of the board of supervisors that came together around this, particularly president david chiu and ross mirkarimi. the incredible support we received from gov. george naarnd schwarzenegger. to our own secretary, secretary george shultz, who was so enthusiastic and supportive, and to our real leaders, with mark buell at the helm of the advisory committee. thank you. thank you to tom perkins. thank you to all of you for your hard work. to the business community that lined up strong support

regionally and locally, and across the state. former mayor willie brown, who was my first phone call in encouraging the support for this race. he will take all the credit when he arrives. to the great leadership, and to my office, to my chief of staff, steve, who gave up a good portion of his christmas break. he is up your summer. steve, thank you. to the project manager -- [applause] [applause] they love you. she is going to be on the cover of "sailing illustrated" or something soon. and to jen from my economic develop office. thank you for your great leadership. [applause] most importantly, and sincerely,

to larry ellison. a lot was said and a lot was written. a lot of words were exchanged. not necessarily a negative, but positive back and forth in a very public way. san francisco is a unique place. we're very transparent. we are process driven. the process was a very inclusive process. there was one person, and i said this throughout -- this was not patronizing. this was not just a mayor saying what he needed to say to move the process along. there was one person who was completely steady throughout the process, and that was larry. through each stage of this effort, i always knew that he wanted to be here. at the same time, i always knew that we had to go through a process that was appropriate for an investment of this type. you have to remember, we are

talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that will be invested in the city and county of san francisco. $1 billion of economic activity. tens of thousands of people will be coming to the city from all over the region. hundreds of thousands of people from all over this country, and potentially millions of people from all parts of the world. they had a lot to offer. when you have something extraordinary to offer and you are going to make investments that are without precedent, you have every right to make sure you are being treated with respect, and traded in an appropriate matter. regardless of what some folks have said or wrote, you could not ask for a better partner then larry and his team. i mean that. larry, thank you for your commitment to our city.

[applause] i will end with this. we were here a couple of months ago. we were celebrating the giants victory, which was a pretty big thing for all of us. we waited half a century for that. i hope you all take the time, because the world series trophy is here today, as is the america's cup trophy. how about that? eat your heart out, new york city. [applause] but one thing we all discovered is that sense of spirit, that sense of pride and optimism that only sports can provide. you cannot legislate spirit. you cannot legislate pride. sports have a way of elevating human spirit.

when people come together and celebrate a common cause, a common experience. it was a remarkable thing. we saw world series. i remember we saw larry. we joked and said, we can do all this soon with the america's cup. that is what we are about to experience. 7.2 million people in this immediate region. a race that is oftentimes hard to see will be impossible to miss here in san francisco. [applause] people that had no idea -- they think it is a big deal. they are enthusiastic about the economic investment, excited about the transformation that's about to take place on our peir -- i still think they do not know what is about to happen. they are going to fall in love with something they may never have experienced or knew. they're going to see things they

never could have imagined. they're going to come together, not just as san franciscans for californians, but as americans, around this extraordinary 34th america's cup. i could not be more proud in more honored by this moment and the extraordinary moment that we will share together over the course of the next few years. it's in that spirit of optimism, in that hope and expectation that all of you will be part of this, because you have brought us this far, and now, as they will remind me every day, there's an extraordinary amount of work that needs to be done. we all need to be part of that. thank you very much. congratulations, san francisco, on this great achievement.

[applause] >> thank you, mayor newsom. speaking of a lot of hard work then needs to be done, this event would not be done without these guys. it will be taking the reins as the america's cup event authority. two of the most distinguished sports management professionals in world, chairman worth, and chief executive officer craig thomas. [applause] >> good afternoon, everybody. let us at our thanks to the mayor, the city of san francisco, and the board of supervisors for having the

confidence and making the commitment to bringing the america's cup to the presidio san francisco. -- to the great city of san francisco. we are extremely proud to be coming to this great city. we are going to tell you a little bit more about what the america's cup coming to the city will really mean. i think it is right to say that we stand on the edge of an event that will provide enormous drama and theater over the next three years and add to the rich history of the america's cup. in a way, it is a gorgeous marriage between a great event and a great city. we know that the city of san francisco will embrace this america's cup like none other before. like the mayor said, it's likely to bring in something in the region of 10 million visitors

from outside of the city to enjoy this event. this is something really special and really big. and this is one of the reasons why. please take a look at the screens. this is truly unique in the history of the america's cup. the ability to stage the entire race in the harbor in view of hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the shores in addition to millions of people on television all over the world. this course will be staged with these very fast boats. it will be a 45-minute program for television. the spectators will be all around the harbor watching this as it has never been done before. we are very fond of saying that

we have a new product. why is the america's cup a new product? what is it about this particular ac 34 that is so unique? first of all, we have boats that have never been seen in an america's cup like this before. they are super fast. they are super big. when people see them, they go, wow. young people love it. it is an extreme sport now, sailing. the sailors on these boats are extreme athletes. you will be seen this with cameramen on board, and understanding why all that's happening from this great camera angle that we will have. we like to say these are the best sailing in the world coming to san francisco to sail on the fastest boats in the world and

that is our new product. [applause] >> i'm just a strange english guy who knows a bit about cricket, rugby, and soccer, but i understand that the words world series means something quite special to this city. [applause] over the next two years, we will be introducing our own america's cup world series, which will not mostly happened in san francisco. it will be happening all over the globe, in europe, in asia, perhaps in australia, new zealand, and other parts of the united states. it will serve two surfaces. it is a promotional event for the america's cup. and the words on everybody's lips for the next few years will be san francisco.

the end of the process will be the america's cup itself. this will be the new tour, and an annual champion will be crowned in the world series of the america's cup. part of that will also be here in san francisco in august of 2012. we are hoping and we are expecting to introduce a whole new generation of fans to this event. not only the sports fans, but to the general interest fans. how'd we do that? by top quality tv broadcasting, by making the sport and the event much more understandable than it has ever been, by guaranteeing race start times, by great industry standard television camera coverage, and by great programming. let's face it, this will be a great american story. it's an american defender of one

of the greatest sporting trophies there is. sailing on american waters to fend off challenges from all over the world. it will be a great american story. [applause] let me just go back to the world series schedule. this will start in june of 2011. only five months away. we will already be running events in europe in what we call the ac45. that's a 45-foot powered by aircraft wing. this is a solid aircraft wing. these are remarkable machines and dispersed world series will kick off in june in europe. as i said, this will not for the globe.

it will be promoting the city of san francisco in europe. the name of san francisco is always on the lips. at the end of this series, the world series champion will be crowned in the ac45 boats. following that, one year later, there will be a second world series in the 72-foot catamarans. the first event, in august of 2012, we anticipate will be right here in san francisco. the first time anybody will see a ac72 boat in competitive action will be here in san francisco in august 2012. [applause] again, in june 2013, the world series champion will be crowned.

in august and september will be the challenger series and the america's cup itself for 2013. >> here we have a truly reinvigorated product, younger, more exciting, faster, bringing the sport to the people. we are targeting, as richardson, a global audience. the eyes of the world will be on san francisco. because of that, we are looking forward to partnering with the great global companies that are here in san francisco and the america that will use this as a platform for their products and services to market those around the world, as, equally, european companies will want to be involved here in america to showcase their products around this great sporting event. >> let me tell you that we will

not be relaxing over the next six months. quite a few things are about to happen. i would like to at least recognized our colleague, ian murray, a world-renowned sailor, and will be the america's cup racing management. that is ian. [applause] one of his responsibilities i'll only a few short days time will be to launch the first ac45 boat in new zealand. next month, we will be launching a brand new brand, an identity, for the america's cup. in march, the marchperiod for america's cup will close. by may, we will have our first tv programming on the year. in june, the first world series will kick off. even though this is an event coming to san francisco in two

and a half years, for us, it starts right here and right now. to conclude, we believe the next america's cup, all the events, all the buildup, and the spectacular end, will be something very special. we are delighted that the city of san francisco will be able to share in every single step of the way. who knows? maybe this will be the first of several such events in this great city. [applause] >> in addition to the mayor and his great staff, we would also like to thank the board of supervisors for making this happen, particularly the board president, david chiu. [applause]

>> good afternoon. on behalf of the san francisco board of supervisors, i want to welcome you to city hall. i want to justify saying that it is incredibly thrilling to see this trophy with the backdrop of the entrance to the board chambers. as i look on to the sea of faces here, i think about why this is such an incredible opportunity for san francisco. all of you, all of us, represent, i think, the most beautiful community in the world, the most beautiful city in the world, the most beautiful bay in the world, and with the america's cup, the entire world is going to know that about san francisco. [applause] i want to thank mayor newsom for

his vision. he has already thanked the numerous city staff. i also want to mention my staffer, who like many of the city staffers, worked tirelessly without very much mention. i also want to thank my colleagues on the board. supervisor mirkarimi, supervisor chu. for those of you who may occasionally watch our activities of the board, we do not always agree. [laughter] is a big deal with something as important as this that we have come together. i also want to thank mr. ellison. i have to admit that i have not yet met you, but your representation perceives you in the form of your negotiators. i would like to say that my fingertips are still heeling. thank you for leaving us of

that. we look forward to a long partnership with you. [applause] i would like to conclude by thanking san francisco for allowing us to move forward with this amazing set of events. we are estimating over $1 billion of economic activity. we know we will be able to revitalize and create a true 21st century port, and allow ourselves to be a showcase for the world to fall in love with san francisco again, and to leave their hearts here. during the last floor debate that we had before the unanimous vote on this agreement, i used way too many sailing metaphors that i will not repeat today. i just want to say, again, on behalf of the board, we look forward to setting sail soon. congratulations. [applause]

>> now it's time to recognize a person who made it possible to brenda america's cup back to american waters. a guy who learn to sail 30 years ago at the berkeley marina, and then won a bunch of titles, and a few america's cup campaigns, and then the next thing you know, the america's cup. take a look at the 1-2 punch. >> i think the salt water of the ocean represents exploration and mystery, especially when you

are a teenager which is when my romance with sailing began. i was in love with the sea. it was something deep in side. water represents one of the essentials of life. >> i grew up on the ocean. finally at 12 years old, my parents bought me one. whatever they spent on it, i had to pay back by mowing the lawn and washing cars. as a kid, you do not have those feelings coming true. when i look back, that is what it was. >> when i grew up, the only access to anywhere was by boat. often we get to school and we are completely wet from racing each other.

>> it is a stunning piece of engineering. hopefully it will be enough to win the cup. it is the limits of what is possible. it is sailing in the 21st century. this is extreme sailing. i'm very excited to be part of that. >> i've been quite fortunate to have been successful in a lot of other aspects of our sport. unfortunately, i've never won the america's cup. it is a dream come true. >> it really never dawned on me that we are not bmw -- we are the american team. i get chills just talking justit.

pursuing the oldest trophy in sport, and people are chanting "go usa." yes, i'm very proud of representing my country. we would like to be the team that brings superb america's cup back to america. sfgtv ♪ ♪ >> bmw oracle as we're coming down to the final 10 seconds. five, four, three, two, one. >> america's cup, the two fastest yachts in america's cup

history take sailing where it has never been. we have got a race on our hands here, folks. ♪ ♪ >> bmw oracle racing is leading with two legs to go. >> five minutes to go. ♪ ♪ >> finally, america's cup they 3

has been decided on the water. february 14, 2010, and valencia spain. the america's cup is america's again. [applause] >> usa usa. ♪ ♪ [applause]

>> amazing. awesome. and better than that. [applause] [applause] >> and a couple things that need to be known about that boat -- the fastest ever be in the america's cup. how fast? 50 miles per hour. fantastic. i would love to take my son on that. it looks really fun. after all this time, you would think you would be burned out and want to go home and go to bed, but now it's time to mount your defense again. ladies and gentlemen, larry ellison.

[applause] [applause] >> well, i guess the last time i was next to this trophy -- in regards to the changing hands in valencia, i made a very short speech in valencia. it was simply, thank you, valencia. that was the 33rd america's cup. it was an extraordinary event. it was a match between two teams. it was the best two out of three. we were very fortunate to have a wonderful piece of technology, created by a brilliant engineering team, a brilliant team of people, and a fabulous group of sailors. we were able to claim this trophy. now it is my chance to say thank you, san francisco.

[applause] [applause] the trophy is back in the united states after a long absence, and we are very proud to be the team to bring it back. there were over 150 people on the oracle racing team. there are design engineers who can see the boat, and design the wing. there are people near seattle, washington who actually build the boat, and the sailors that are out there racing it. there are a lot of people behind the scenes, shore crews, engineers, over 150 people. it was their diligence, of their b