BMW Oracle Racing Team Honored Aboard USS Midway Museum

Monday, 22 February 2010
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216

Officials from the Port of San Diego and the city of San Diego, along with the sailing community and proud fans gathered to celebrate the America's Cup Winning BMW Oracle Racing team on Sunday, February 21, 2010.

The BMW Victory Tour made a stop Sunday afternoon aboard the USS Midway Museum then sailed onto a private reception Sunday evening at the San Diego Yacht Club.

Port of San Diego's President and CEO Charles D. Wurster, along with Port Commissioner Lee Burdick, presented Larry Ellison, the financial backer for the team, with a proclamation honoring BMW Oracle Racing.

"We, as Chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Port of San Diego, on behalf of its staff and employees, hereby extend our heartfelt congratulations to BMW ORACLE racing for winning the historic 33rd America's Cup competition," read the proclamation.

The team swept the 33rd America's Cup match off Valencia, Spain, on February 14. The victory marks the return of yachting's oldest active trophy competition in international sport to the United States after a 15-year absence.

San Diego hosted the Oracle team while it trained and tested its BOR 90 trimaran offshore of Point Loma for 16 months spanning 2008 and 2009. The team maintained headquarters at Fifth Avenue Landing behind the San Diego Convention Center.

The America's Cup silver trophy, under guard, went on display for about an hour onboard the USS Midway flight deck. Members of the team shook hands with fans and signed autographs. Skipper James Spithill fired up the crowd when he said San Diego would be a good spot for America's Cup 34.

"As you know I have a house here in Point Loma," he said, "my wife is from here, her parents live here. I'm actually quite keen to have that sort of support nearby when I do the next cup. So, you guys can count on me to work on Larry (Ellison) and these guys here so we can bring her back to San Diego."

Ellison is a Bay Area software tycoon who bankrolled the BMW Oracle racing team. The team represents San Francisco's Golden Gate Yacht Club and Ellison said San Francisco was his first choice to defend the trophy. But he said that decision over where the cup would be defended would only be made after he talked with representatives of several countries who would compete for the trophy.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders met privately with Ellison on Sunday and asked that the city be selected to host the sailing event. San Diego hosted the America's Cup competition in 1988, 1992 and 1995.

Sanders also presented Ellison with a proclamation as well as a key to the city.

After the Midway event, the team and the prestigious trophy sailed across San Diego Bay, onboard the San Diego-based schooner America, a replica of the vessel that first won the America's Cup for the U.S. in 1851. The team was then honored at the San Diego Yacht Club, once home to the America's Cup.

While in San Diego, the BMW ORACLE racing team benefited the local economy and provided significant business for local marine supply stores, hotels, restaurants and other waterfront businesses. The team and its new innovations such as the hard winged sail attracted a lot of national and international media interest, which put the spotlight on San Diego.

"We estimate we contributed $10 million in economic impact to the San Diego region," said Stephen Barclay, BMW ORACLE Racing Chief Operating Officer.

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