Suck it, Newport, Rhode Island. San Francisco has been chosen to host the next America's Cup.
Our fair city was chosen much in part due to our "natural amphitheater" in which spectators can watch the 72-foot catamarans sail by for free from countless places from the Golden Gate Bridge to Treasure Island, such as parks, high-rises, and city streets, providing the first opportunity of its kind in decades.
The event will take place in 2013, "heralding a potential renaissance in competitive sailing," injecting more than $1 billion into the local economy -- after the city shells out at least $128.3 million up front to host the race, and adding 8,800 new jobs.
Crews from international teams are expected to arrive in the bay as early as this summer to learn the wind and current patterns, and the construction of new piers and racing facilities near the Bay Bridge will need to begin soon.