After wading through article after article about cities that can barely afford to pave their roads and keep libraries open, this is the kind of piece that makes me cringe. A sailing race for billionaires convinces the city to play host and pour all kinds of money into piers, advertising, you name it. Surprise, surprise, the event isn’t going to make the city nearly as much money as everyone cheerfully promised it would years ago. There’s always some excuse (the economy! Americans don’t like sailing!) but it’s always the same old story. How cities keep falling for this is beyond me.
If Larry Ellison were a real stand-up citizen, he would use some of his $40 billion to make up the difference between what he said the city make in profits and what actually materializes in their coffers. Gambling with public money is what these entrepreneurs do best, and there are always willing bettors.
Read: America’s Cup Sailing Race Faces Challenges in San Francisco – NYTimes.com.