Larry Ellison, winner of the last America's Cup with his BMW Oracle Racing team, would probably want to defend the jug in front of San Francisco. However, the city must provide guarantees within the next six weeks.
It's all about environmental protection. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, changes would have to be made to the harbour facilities for the teams' camps, as well as further construction measures on land. This would require a special permit, as strict environmental protection regulations apply. However, environmentalists fear that this would open the gates wide for further projects and speculators. Something similar happened a year ago when Governor Schwarzenegger granted an exemption to allow the construction of a football stadium.
Cup defender Ellison has now demanded guarantees that the planned changes can actually be implemented. This puts the city under pressure in terms of time, as it is not possible to change the environmental protection guidelines just like that. Ellison, on the other hand, is running out of time because he has committed to announcing the venue by the end of December this year. Although San Francisco is the only candidate city from the USA, there are interested parties in Spain and Italy. Valencia is said to have made a "very generous bid", with a group in Rome offering 645 million US dollars for an unspecified location, according to the Chronicle.
