she is the director of the department of economic and workforce development. please welcome her. [applause] >> i don't know what the equivalent is but i think i am more the taskmaster, safe driver. still ginsberg, the director of the park, thank you. we would not be here today without leadership and guidance of the port commission represented by kimberly brandon. the director of the office and workforce development, my duties include the interest and development, business attraction and retention, small business

development, international trade and commerce and workforce development. when you listen to the job description, you understand why this is so important. this is not only a breathtaking spectator event that will mark us internationally, this touches on nearly every aspect of what we do to improve the economic climate of san francisco. the america's cup will help us nationally and internationally. it creates business opportunities and jobs. the contribution to the economy is obvious. visitor's events, international television exposure, tax revenue, the less obvious but just as direct of impacts of this event will last way beyond the 34th america's cup races and the 5th america's cup races and the 36th and the 37th. [applause] >> racing to be hosted here in

san francisco. the less economic -- the less obvious impact comes from development that is happening right here, right now on this waterfront. aside from improvements to the america's cup locations that will be discussed later in this program, there are several transformative projects that when combined with the event's facilities will make this waterfront a more vibrant, and more enjoyable place for all. the new cruise ship terminal will be america's cup neighbors. from these venues and these venues will benefit from the america's cup spectators. the america's cup is enabling in increased access to peers like this one. there are public access project like the wharf park and the characteriak launch. this will have public access and activation along the waterfront. not all of these projects are as a direct result of the race. however, the timing of these projects along with the huge

influm of people who will be coming to san francisco to enjoy the 2012 and 2013 races ensure that the totality of those projects will vastly benefit our economy and our enjoyment of the waterfront. that's what makes hosting the america's cup race so remarkably special for san francisco. it's an event and a legacy. with that, i would like to ask us to gather at the signing table so the mayor can sign the resolution that approves the city's agreements with the america's cup event authority which makes the defense of the 34th america's cup in san francisco a reality. i would like to ask the mayor, board president david chiu, port director, the america's cap c.e.o. and the chairman and >> i'm impressed.

>> all right. here is one. thank you, mayor. >> this is interesting. >> those of you who can't see, this is taking a few minutes, not because the mayor is slow at signing, but he has to sign with so many different pens. >> camera is in the way. >> it even looks like my signature. [laughter] >> here we go. >> braff joe. >> all right.

[applause] >> we have a special video we call flying on water. it's a great video. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ please stand by [applause] >> i was going to say that that video is one of the best sailing videos i think we have ever seen. i think our colleagues on the team would agree. it's just terrific. it's probably the closest, again, i defer to the sailors and the sailing team. it's the closest thing to experience what these amazing boats are, these a.c.-45's, the bits and pieces that are here. the cup next summer which is in july and august, the challenger selection races, july and august, the winner of race will race the oracle racing in the finals starting september 7 in the first to win five. those races will take place in

the a.c. 72's that you'll see starting to hit the water later this summer. the guys and gals are now designing and building on behalf of the teams. ladies and gentlemen, to tell you all about that and more, he has an olympic gold medal from the 1984 olympics in los angeles in the fin class. he has more america's cup races than anyone in the history of the planet. he has one four of the last five america's cups. i was thinking about this, mr. mayor, he has had particularly good success in california thinking about the olympics in 1984, but the competition -- thanks jennifer, the competition is exceedingly tough. this may be the highest quality field of challengers ever. team new zealand for sure. the italian sure, the swedish team, the french are very strong as well and we'll see how the chinese and the koreans do. >> i'll give them all my

number. >> what are you looking for, economic development or some other kind of development? [laughter] >> ok, that wasn't in your script either, adam. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the c.e.o. of oracle racing, the winningest skipper in the history of the america's cup. [applause] >> well, thank you, sir mayor and thank you jennifer. some of you may recall the america's cup when dennis connor was king. he was mr. america's cup, winning it, actually winning it twice, then losing it and then finally winning it again. and i remember something he said. he said the america's cup is a game of life. racing is just how you keep the score. and i must say that with 20 years or actually slightly more than that involvement in the

america's cup, i think i know exactly what he meant. the america's cup is much more than a sailboat race, for a team that tests every element from talent to technology, from fundraising to boat building, from management to athleticism. for a host city, it's a competition much bigger than sailing. it can simply shine a light on the city where it's taking place. so i offer this friendly piece of warning. be prepared because two weeks ago, the america's cup teams were racing in names, italy -- napeles, italy, where i believe something like 500,000 spectators turned out during the course of that week. remember, that was only a week of activities. so you got a sense of that in

the earlier video that we saw and even the rain didn't deter the fans. i know from what jimmy spittle said, him and his crew had difficulty in just making their way to the regatta village through the crowds. combine this with the enthusiasm or combine that enthusiasm with the natural stadium that san francisco offers, then the america's cup i think we can all perhaps start to see will be simply sensational. they have raced all over the world and i can tell you that san francisco was at the front of the cue when the natural attributes were handed out. to me, the bay area is the perfect sailing stadium. you have strong winds. you have an open relatively deep waterfront where the boats can cut the sail right in close against the peers and so forth

and having competed in the olympics in america's cup quite a few times, i have seen firsthand the positive and enduring benefits, and, jennifer, you mentioned a lot of them, that such an iconic world class boating event can bring, not just to the host city, but often the host nation. so i'm convinced that people that will eventually look back on this america's cup, instead of calling it the 34th america's cup or even the 2013 america's cup, i believe it will come to be known as the san francisco america's cup. [applause] >> i think i said sometime ago and i have always believed that the america's cup, because of

this is fortunate, very, very fortunate, very lucky in fact to have san francisco. but san francisco is also lucky i believe to have the america's cup and here is why. where we are today will be the race village. for fans this will be their headquarters. this will become a social hub of the city, not just for the america's cup, but for the long term also. in the olympic games and america's cup that i have seen firsthand, enduring legacy that such waterfront developments have it leaves for a long period of time. yet here in san francisco, we are only minutes away from the downtown offices and hotels and the embarcadero is the main tourist route along the city front. the official opening of the america's cup event village

will happen sometime around the commencement around the lucy vuitton cup which tom says starts on july 5. the ambition is to have parts of the village open to the public from may on wards or earlier if we can manage it. on the other side of the bay bridge will be pit road. this is where the team bases will be and where the fans will get up close and by up close, really close to the spectacular boats that will compete in the summer of 2013. so in the past, in the past, the teams have had 15-foot high fences around the bases. lucy, you would remember that sort of treatment and the security guards and so forth that prevented the public from coming in. that's all about to change. people will be able to see these boats close up and see

them lifted into and out of the water and see the teams getting on and off the boats and working on the boats and making the changes to make them fast on the racecourse. and this activity and interaction won't be typical of weekend long sporting events or it won't be like a weeklong festival like fleet week it. will go on for months. on july 4, the lewis vuitton challenger series will start -- sorry, i said the 5th, it's the 4th. after two weeks of racing the challenger will line up against the home team on september 9. the american team will be racing to keep the america's cup in america. and all this racing will take place right off the city front. the start line will be adjacent to marina green where the

golden gate bridge at a backdrop. from the start, it will take the boats probably less than a minute to scream towards the first turn which would be only about 150 yards off the shoreline, so close to the water's edge in fact that you'll be able to hear the sound of the winches and the voices of the crew. i'm talking about polite voices. the regatta director has just issued a directive about the salty language needing to be a little sweeter. then boats will rip up and down the bay. on that first leg, they'll approach speeds close to 50 miles per hour, but they'll rip up and down the bay over a three-lap course and then the finish line will be right off here at piers 27 and 29. so the america's cup competition will be 162 years old, this fantastic trophy next

year, yet it will have seen nothing like what's about to happen in san francisco. this will be the fastest, most fan friendly cup there has ever been. you'll have the drama and excitement of the athletes racing extreme machines on the best natural racing arena in the world and i agree, tom, better than new zealand in terms of a racing arena. may i remind you, the last america's cup was the last time it was in the u.s. was in san diego in 1995. fans had to head out to the pacific ocean for more than 1 1/2 hours to see the racing. they had to spend 1 1/2 hours to come back afterwards. for this america's cup in the same three years, we could have had, in fact, more than three races completed. and those races will be shown around the world live on tv and

here in the u.s. on nbc. it will be a very different style of america's cup, more exciting, more engaging, more accessible. it will be the best sailors racing the fastest boats on the best stage. and you don't have to own a boat or even have access to a boat or even in fact know anything about boating to be part of this event. you simply head down to the shore to watch the action on the water or watch it on one of the big screens that will be here along the waterfront and for the mobile device generation, i have particularly avoided the facebook generation. for the mobile device generation, your spectator experience will be enhanced by apps especially designed to get you inside the races and experience what it's like to be onboard these boats.

it will be the most fan friendly america's cup in history. there will be a chance to see some of this, this summer. the america's cup teams will come here and be racing the a.c. 45 class and some of you may have already seen us training in these boats on the bay. these boats are currently racing in the america's cup world series. they are the same boats that will be racing in venice in a few weeks' time and then in newport toward the end of june. they are the boats coming here later this year to san francisco. but for the america's cup finals and the lewis vuitton trials, teams will race the a.c. 72. now we have half of an a.c. 45 boat at the back of this place here today. we have some of the wing parts of an a.c. 45 boat here today. imagine a boat nearly twice as long as an a.c. 45 with

something like four times the pair and imagine the wing style being twice as tall as the a.c. 45, something as tall as a 1-story building. that's what's coming town. that's what is under construction in our team base at pier 80. that's what our team will begin training in later this year, perhaps as early as the end of july, beginning of august here on the bay. so these boats are cool, they're meant to be cool and are cool. the america's cup has been transformed. it has retained the tradition, but it's blown away the stuffyness that is all about now, it's all about inclusion. it's for the city front crowd just as much as it is for the other crowd. two years and two months ago, our team won the america's cup and brought it to san francisco

and i'm delighted to be here with the mayor signing of the resolution is a major milestone. it marks months of tremendous hard work, good will, cooperation and, yes, some heartache along the way to allow the america's cup to proceed. the america's cup is a tremendous opportunity for the city and for the bay area and i might add for the sport of sailing to showcase our sport in a new and exciting way. so thank you, mr. mayor, and all others. [applause] and all others who have helped make this a reality. let's capture the memories of every single person who papers and -- parities updates and sees the summer of raising on the bay. let's encourage them to

remember that this is the best america's cup ever. let's encourage them to remember this as the san francisco america's cup. thank you very much. thank you. [applause] >> the san francisco cup, i like it. i was just thinking back about the comment i made about your success in california over the years. in 1995 in san diego when the cup left, i think you won that one, too, didn't you? one of them, yes, a good success. thanks, russell, terrific stuff. mr. mayor, jennifer, now we have got a special treat for all of you. we got a special treat and i would like to invite up here a colleague from oracle racing, the team coordinator who is going to show you the game called america's cup speed

trial on ipads live and in color on the tv screens. please welcome ian burns. [applause] >> hi, how are you? >> great, thanks. >> ian is from sydney, australia, his nickname is fresh. half of the people don't know his real name is ian. he is known more commonly as fresh and he and a group of people from around the world, an international group at russell's behest have developed an ipad game for what you call it, the mobile crowd. the mobile device generation. tim jeffrey, that's the mobile, mobile device generation, the m.d.g. do you have a mobile device, charlotte? we're going to get you one. look how cool this is. fresh, show us how this works. we're on this screen, i think. >> when we developed the game, we wanted a game that anyone

could play from 6 to 96 and anyone of sailing experience or no sailing experience so the game can be played by anyone, but we'll demonstrate it a little bit later on. you choose your team you want to represent. of course, we'll choose oracle. >> this is a new style of racing. in fact, russell, we have incorporated this into the america's cup world series. it's called the speed trial. it's over a 500-meter course. the idea is to sail the boat down the drag strip as fast as possible among all of the teams. this is done in naples. here is fresh demonstrating trying to go down the course. >> down the course as fast as i can. i'm steering by actually rocking the ipad from side to side and if you aren't careful, you can actually capsize the boat just like real life. i'm trying to get the fastest time that i can and around 35 seconds is not too bad. i'm not looking too good at the

momen starts to heel over, you do what? >> you turn into the wind like this, you can capsize and if you turn away from the wind, you can avoid a capsize. >> oh, you capsized! is that artemis raising that capsizes in that video? >> actually, yes. >> sorry, me lippeda, we had to mention

that is pretty good. do you want to have another go? ok, thank you very much. ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our presentation.

think you, mr. mayor, russell, jennifer.