Scuttlebutt News Center:
America's Cup Villages - Then and Now
(May 4, 2004) An America's Cup champion is known as much for their performance on the water as the facilities that they provide on land for their defense. The 2000 and 2003 America's Cup defenses in New Zealand brought the concept of the "America's Cup Village" to the forefront. For 2007, it is Spain's turn as Valencia plays host to defender Alinghi for the 2007 series. But where do these villages come from, and what happens after the A-Cup circus moves on? Enjoy the images below which shows what Valencia is planning, plus Auckland before, during, and after the event.
Valencia - Before
Looking to the southeast, with the western Mediterranean in the background. The main race course area will be in waters on the left side of the photo. The inner harbour (middleground) will become the America's Cup basin. A massive 800x80m channel is to be built out to the Med where indicated. This will afford the race yachts a short ten-minute tow from their bases in the inner harbour out to the course instead of a longer tow out through the busy commercial harbour (right background).
Showing the present inner harbour, looking back to the northwest from over the race course -- roughly the opposite direction of the photo above.
This rendering, approximately from the same perspective as the photo above, is what the harbour is supposed to look like by 2007. The AC village (with the tower) is in the foreground, the team bases ringing the inner harbour to the right, a super-yacht berthing mooring ring in the background, with the media/broadcast center on the far side. - Photos and comments provided by Tom Ehman
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Auckland - Before
(photo by Dave Blyth and Doug Hanna)
Auckland - During
(photo by Dave Blyth and Doug Hanna)
Auckland - After
View of the Viaduct basin in Auckland in January 2004, one year after the 2003 America's Cup. Team NZ and Oracle BMW Racing are the only compounds that remain amidst the new construction of luxury apartments ("Auckland - After" photos by Thierry Martinez).
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