While it seems like San Francisco is a shoe-in to host the 2013 America's Cup, there's still the small issue of how much this thing will cost the city. Today both the SFAppeal and The Chronicle broke down the independent report that was requested by landlubbing Supervisor Chris Daly. The report estimates the city will need to shell out at least $128.3 million up front to host the race, or $143 million if we need to finance that cost with bonds. That cost includes $42.1 million for hosting the event (spending by Muni, SFPD and other city agencies), and $86.2 million in revenue lost by granting development rights and free leases on waterfront properties for the next 66 years.
On the flip side, the race is still expected to bring in $1.2 billion for the local economy, which is comparable to the $1.4 billion estimated by Newsom's office while back and works out to $22 million in tax revenue (and probably one really crowded patio at Red's Java House). In addition to that income, there's the benefit of rebuilding the crumbling waterfront - like piers 30 and 32 which a spokesperson from the Mayor's office points out "you can't even park a large truck on" lest it slide into the bay. Finally, as Chris Robert's on the Appeal points out: there's a chance that competing bids to host the Cup in a mysterious Italian Port don't even exist.
