{"id":1077,"date":"2011-01-10T07:36:44","date_gmt":"2011-01-10T11:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/?p=1077"},"modified":"2011-01-10T07:41:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-10T11:41:00","slug":"throw-a-dog-a-bonemaybe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/?p=1077","title":{"rendered":"THROW A DOG A BONE,MAYBE?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does this sound like playing both sides? Up is the up side for Newport?<\/a><\/p>\n

Newport may get America\u2019s Cup pre-regatta races<\/strong><\/p>\n

01:00 AM EST on Saturday, January 8, 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

By kate bramson<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

journal staff writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ehman<\/p>\n

PROVIDENCE \u2013\u2013 Newport\u2019s loss of the America\u2019s Cup final Match races behind them, state leaders and Cup officials went back to the drawing board Friday to try to hammer out a deal to bring pre-regatta races to the City by the Sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s not a done deal, but I\u2019d say \u2026 we\u2019re probably 75 percent of the way there,\u201d Thomas Ehman, head of Oracle Racing external affairs, said Friday at the State House with Governor Chafee at his side.<\/p>\n

Ehman said he\u2019s \u201cconfident\u201d the state can complete negotiations with America\u2019s Cup officials in the next couple of weeks, when he hopes to reach a final agreement.<\/p>\n

Ehman said he traveled to Rhode Island this week with \u201ctwo asks\u201d for Rhode Island: Could the state be ready to host an America\u2019s Cup World Series event this September and could the state be the Cup\u2019s backup plan for the final Match races in 2013 if, for any reason, the deal with San Francisco falls apart?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t think there are any problems in San Francisco,\u201d Ehman said. \u201cBut if for any reason it falters \u2026 we need \u2014 as prudent sailors, businesspeople, event organizers \u2014 we need a backup plan and from what I\u2019ve heard today from \u2026 the governor and on down, everyone has said, \u2018Yes, we think we can figure out a way to help you if on the small chance that happens.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s not counting on such a fumble, but leaders are gearing up to become the site for pre-regatta races.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an America\u2019s Cup fan,\u201d Chafee said. \u201cI was on the race course in 1983 in the seventh race, I saw on that tragic downwind when Australia II finally passed Dennis Conner\u2019s Liberty and the Cup left Newport. I think our chances of getting it back are slim \u2014 Tom\u2019s been very honest \u2014 in 2013. But there are other opportunities, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

State leaders said the World Series races would be an economic boon to all of Rhode Island. House Speaker Gordon D. Fox said it\u2019s appropriate to try to upgrade Fort Adams State Park as the venue because the money would be spent to improve a state asset.<\/p>\n

No one could say how much it would cost to bring the September regatta here \u2014 partly because discussions with Ehman before Friday had centered on costs for hosting the final Match races.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know it,\u201d said Richard A. Licht, director of administration. \u201cWe don\u2019t know the specifics of what they need yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

America\u2019s Cup officials are dreaming of a different kind of race to bring sailing to the masses, envisioning pre-regatta races as a way to build enthusiasm and momentum for the final Match, Ehman said.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll call an annual series of four to six regattas, which will begin this summer in Europe and lead up to the final Match race, the America\u2019s Cup World Series. At the end of each series, they\u2019ll name a world champion, hoping to maintain momentum for the sport in between final Cup years.<\/p>\n

Newport would be the first American location for the World Series, Ehman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the idea is that as soon as the 2013 America\u2019s Cup is over, [they\u2019ll go] right back on the racing circuit, back to Newport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Also at the State House Friday, state Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed said state leaders hope the \u201cglorious\u201d facilities at Fort Adams will lure even more races to Newport.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want people spending money here,\u201d the governor chimed in.<\/p>\n

Ehman said the nine-day World Series regatta in Newport is tentatively set for Sept. 17 to 25.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s Cup organizers are negotiating for live television coverage \u2014 \u201cnot just on minor networks\u201d \u2014 for that final Sunday of the Newport regatta, he said. Then Ehman, who calls himself a \u201cproud former resident of Newport,\u201d hearkened back to the days of America\u2019s Cup glory in the city, recalling the first live telecast of an America\u2019s Cup race was in Newport on Sept. 25 of the final year Newport hosted the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it went live on TV in 1983, that\u2019s when the Cup really became a worldwide phenomenon, and that\u2019s what we aim to do here with these America\u2019s Cup World Series events, starting with Rhode Island,\u201d Ehman said.<\/p>\n

After the media fanfare subsided at the State House, he added: \u201cIt\u2019s important to have a connection to the history and tradition of the Cup. \u2026 If we can make this happen, this is a cool thing for all concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

kbramson@projo.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does this sound like playing both sides? Up is the up side for Newport? Newport may get America\u2019s Cup pre-regatta races 01:00 AM EST on Saturday, January 8, 2011 By kate bramson journal staff writer Ehman PROVIDENCE \u2013\u2013 Newport\u2019s loss of the America\u2019s Cup final Match races behind them, state leaders and Cup officials went … Continue reading THROW A DOG A BONE,MAYBE?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[469],"class_list":["post-1077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas-cup","tag-34th-americas-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1077"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1079,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077\/revisions\/1079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephenlirakis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}