If San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom has his way, the next America’s Cup in 2013 could see 72-foot catamarans crossing the finish line in the San Francisco Bay with Alcatraz Island in the background.   The last winner of the race, the BMW Oracle Racing team led by billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, will select the location of the next regatta.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle, if San Francisco is chosen to host the event it could bring up to $1 billion to the city’s economy.  The city would make an investment of $80 million for piers and other preparation and Ellison and the Oracle Group would raise $270 million in private funds to manage and run the event. 

The host city for the event will be announced is scheduled to be announced by Dec. 31.

BMW Oracle Racing Team won Race 2 of the 33rd America’s Cup off the coast of Valencia and took the America’s Cup trophy. The team, founded a decade ago by successful software entrepreneur Larry Ellison, crossed the finish line in the high-tech trimaran USA a full 5 minutes ahead of the Alinghi team. For the first time Ellison was on board the USA, enjoying victory on his first American’s Cup match race. The Valentine’s Day win made BMW Oracle Racing the first victorious American team in the America’s Cup since 1992.

The America’s Cup 34 will be held in 3 or 4 years and defended by The Golden Gate Yacht Club, Larry Ellison’s club. Many are wondering if it the venue will be San Francisco Bay, which has heavy cargo traffic. Other possible locations that have been mentioned are San Diego, California, Newport, Rhode Island and Valencia.

The 33rd Americas Cup is now underway in Valencia, Spain. The race is between just two teams, defender Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing. The 2010 America’s Cup has been one of the most controversial to date. Following several months of litigation, both teams agreed to a one-on-one Deed of Gift match. The boats, named Alinghi 5 and USA 17, are 90 ft. sailing multi-hulls. We’ve written here before about the benefits of multi-hulls, and this race is proving us right in the extreme. These vessels are capable of going “faster than the wind.” Power boats carrying film crews and race officials are having a hard time keeping up.

The first two days of scheduled racing were postponed due to rough wind and wave conditions. The first race was held today and the winning team was BMW Oracle Racing. The next race in this “first to two” competition will be Sunday, Feb. 14. See Race 1 in this YouTube video: