Village for Regatta Buffs to Offer Food, Fun, Fervor

Plans for an “America’s Cup Village”--designed to draw boating buffs further into the fervor surrounding the regatta--were announced Monday.

Officials from the San Diego America’s Cup Task Force and Seaport Village said the complex will open Sept. 6 at North Embarcadero Marina Park at Seaport Village.

The village will feature television coverage of the race, sidewalk food stands, a display area for the America’s Cup trophy, daily entertainment, shops hawking America’s Cup memorabilia and small-scale versions of yachts of past races from the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut.

Admission to the village, which will remain open until the races end, will be free.

“This will be the only place for the public to view, enjoy and celebrate this event,” Raymond Burk, chairman of the San Diego Unified Port District, said at a press conference at North Embarcadero Park.

Regatta Off Point Loma

The regatta, a best-of-three series to be held off Point Loma, is scheduled to run Sept. 7, 9 and 11.

Sponsors said they are unsure of the cost of setting up the village and of how much revenue it will generate.

“All of that has yet to be worked out,” Burk said.

Lee Stein, president of Seaport Village, said he and task force members are “planning for large crowds and small crowds,” but they have no estimate on the expected turnout.

“Crowds will reach . . . the hundreds of thousands, we expect,” he said. “We’re having a pops concert Sunday night after the race. We expect 20,000 to 25,000 Sunday night alone.”

Thousands of New Zealanders

Graeme Colman, a crew member from the competing New Zealand team, said thousands of his countrymen are also planning to descend on San Diego for the race.

“We’re glad this will be set up so all those people won’t come to our place, where there is no room,” he said.

Task force officials said they developed the village concept last year, but a protracted court battle with New Zealand’s Michael Fay, head of the Kiwi racing venture, left the task force with little time to realize the idea.

“The idea for the America’s Cup Village had been in the works for a long time,” said Jeff Stafford, executive director of the task force. “The implementation has been in the works for only about three weeks.”

Dal Watkins, president of San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he hopes the village will bring the average citizen closer to a race perceived to be dominated by the rich.

“We like the idea that this is going to be more geared toward the public and a little less of the elitist aspect,” said Watkins, who is a member of the task force. “That was part of our focus. Also, as we understand from Fremantle (Australia), there wasn’t really a good center where you could get the feeling of the Cup. We think this will be a place where people can get that feeling.”

Besides the task force, other San Diegans are trying to bring race fans closer to the regatta.

Invader Cruises and H&M; Landing are offering to ferry yacht enthusiasts to the outskirts of the racing site.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to see the race aboard the largest schooner in America,” said Lora Barger, a spokeswoman for Invader Cruises.

Invader Cruises is offering rides out to the race aboard the 151-foot schooner Invader. Tickets are $250 per person per day; the cruises will last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The H&M; cruises to the regatta site cost $100 a person, said Dale Sydenstricker, an H&M; spokeswoman. The company is also offering $2,000 privately chartered cruises to the site.