Billionaire Larry Ellison Would Like to Host America's Cup in Hawaii

Billionaire Larry Ellison, who currently owns 98 percent of the island of Lanai, has stated that he would like to see if he can arrange for the America's Cup yacht race to be held in Hawaii in 2017.  Hosting the America's Cup could be extremely profitable for the islands.  Last year, the regatta generated between $365 million and $550 million for the Bay Area, where the race was held.  While the numbers may not be quite as high if the event is held in the Hawaiian Islands, it would still be substantial.  In comparison, the Honolulu Marathon generated $101 million in visitor spending in 2013 and the Pro Bowl football game generated $26 million. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell stated, "We look forward to working with Mr. Ellison and America's Cup officials and the state to see what we can do to make this vision a reality. We are excited about the idea of holding the America's Cup in Honolulu because we have some of the most challenging and varied sailing conditions in the world, and there's no more beautiful backdrop than sailing off Honolulu, Wai­kiki and Diamond Head."

Jerry Agrusa, Hawaii Pacific University's College of Business professor, cautioned that the economic impact may not be as high as one would expect, especially since Oahu hotels are currently near capacity.  Agrusa estimates that the races would generate about $43 million in economic impact and $1.95 million in taxes. He added, "The big challenge was the America's Cup made the people pay (last year). The taxpayers paid to fix the harbors, then they expected all these people were coming to watch the race, but not all these people showed up. Our harbors aren't set for these types of boats. We don't need to build infrastructure for yachts that will stay here for three months and then go away. We shouldn't use Hawaii tax dollars at a time when our infrastructure in Hawaii is crumbling."

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 3-11-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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