$636 Million Spent During Regatta : Cup Races Were Boon to Australia, Study Finds

The 5-month-long America’s Cup regatta in Fremantle--which concluded in February with Dennis Conner’s victory aboard the yacht Stars & Stripes--resulted in an estimated $636 million being spent in Western Australia, according to an Australian study.

The amount, stated in U.S. dollars, is about $146 million less than the Australians had anticipated, primarily because fewer people than expected from other parts of Australia visited during the Cup races, the study said.

But overall, the study concluded that the regatta had a very positive impact on Fremantle and nearby Perth, not only economically but also in such intangibles as image.

The report is expected to help buttress the argument by the San Diego America’s Cup Task Force that the next defense of the Cup, scheduled for 1991, should be held here.

Entire Region Benefits

“These figures demonstrate just how significant hosting the event will be. The entire region stands to benefit,” Brian Bilbray, task force chairman and a county supervisor, said in a prepared statement.

The selection of the next race location has been mired in controversy. A committee selected for the task was disbanded by an arbitrator, who acted after Conner’s Sail America syndicate filed a complaint about the composition of the group.

The names of seven people who have been nominated by Sail America to serve on a new committee are scheduled to be released today.

The report--released Friday by the San Diego task force--was done by the University of Western Australia’s Centre for Applied and Business Research and is based on a 2-year study conducted for the government of Western Australia and the Commonwealth America’s Cup Support Group.

Overall Impact

Using a variety of methods, including telephone surveys of Australians and a comparison of Australia’s expectations before the event and the reality after it ended, the inch-thick report dealt with the regatta’s overall economic impact, the impact to Fremantle, a Perth residents’ survey and estimates on the number of visitors to Perth and Fremantle.

Primary expenditures by visitors and the yachting syndicates, plus the costs of construction and capital operations, amounted to $202 million. By use of a multiplier--in which the impact of the spending is spread through the economy--the report concluded that the races added a total of $636 million to the local economy. It has been estimated that in 1991, the regatta could bring in $1 billion to the San Diego region.

Overall, about 930,600 people visited Perth during the time of the races, from last October to February. An estimated 135,000 of those were foreign visitors, 226,000 were from other parts of Australia and about 570,000 were from the state of Western Australia, where the regatta was held. Even though the number of visitors from other parts of Australia represented a 72% increase over the year before and an 82% increase from 1984-85, the visits were still 43% below expectations.

92% Watched on TV

One of the most interesting findings was that of the Perth residents surveyed, 92% watched the races live on television and 20%--or an estimated 200,000 residents--watched at least one of the America’s Cup races in person, from either the shore or from a boat.

The study found that the high expectations of booming restaurant business failed to occur for the majority and, in some cases, actually decreased, particularly for those farthest away from the races in Perth.

Not surprisingly, the restaurants where the effects of the Cup regatta were most noticeable were in the Fremantle area. Yet even here, the study noted, expectations of increased business proved “to be somewhat over-optimistic.”

The report also included a survey of Fremantle residents who had participated in two earlier America’s Cup interviews in July, 1985, and March of last year. The idea was to assess the changes that occurred in the residents’ perceptions after the event.

Most of these residents (81%) thought the general character and atmosphere of Fremantle had improved as a result of the regatta and 74% said they would be pleased if the event were held in their town again.