Bermuda to host 2017 America’s Cup

(November 20, 2014) – The tax haven of Bermuda has been picked over San Diego to host the 2017 America’s Cup, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because defending champion Oracle Team USA, based in San Francisco, hasn’t made the decision public.

The person said software billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp. made the decision after consulting with the CEO of his sailing team, Russell Coutts, a New Zealander who also is director of the America’s Cup Event Authority.

America’s Cup officials have scheduled a news conference in New York on Dec. 2 to announce the venue selection.

This will be the first time a U.S. defender holds the America’s Cup outside the United States. It’ll also be the first time in the regatta’s 163-year history that a defender sails the races in foreign waters by choice rather than necessity. In 2007 and 2010, Alinghi of Switzerland held the America’s Cup in Valencia, Spain, because it wasn’t practical to race on Lake Geneva. FULL REPORT