America’s Cup Economic Impact Forecast
[Written by Don Burgess]
The economic impact of the America’s Cup could be bigger than originally forecast, according to Minister of Economic Development Dr. Grant Gibbons.
The impact assessment by the Bermuda America’s Cup Bid Committee, released in October 2014, projected an economic impact of $242M for the island. Of that, $94.1M [38.9%] was from spending by the America’s Cup Event Authority, Oracle Team USA and the challenger teams.
The Projected Economic Impact [PEI] report was based in part that the “challenger teams would be in Bermuda for a period of only three months.”
Those figures are now impacted with both Artemis Racing and Team Softbank Japan based here.
Slideshow of the America’s Cup World Series in Bermuda:
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Dr. Grant Gibbons told Bernews said the Bermuda PEI was based off of past reports from the last three venues of the America’s Cup: San Francisco, Valencia and Auckland. From there it was reverse engineered to fit the Bermuda model.
He said much of the $94M of the PEI was weighted towards the ACEA and Oracle.
“The [challenger] teams are a smaller proportion of that.”
He said both the ACEA and Oracle did discuss what they could be expected to spend in Bermuda while “the others are more speculative.”
“But, yes, we would expect a bigger economic impact with team Japan moving in and Artemis as well. So yes, we should come out better than” the projected $242M forecast.
Dr. Gibbons added that the AC model “is similar to the reinsurers that are here. It’s not the work that goes in and out of the lawyer’s office; it’s people literally on the ground renting apartments, in grocery stores, eating in restaurants and basically running a household — getting paid here and spending that money in the community on goods and services.
“That’s why Bermuda does well from an international business perspective. We have a lot of boots on the ground and that’s exactly why this is a different model than some of the other sporting events because there is a sustained amount of spending over a certain period of time.”
He said that if the teams are here longer, it is going to benefit Bermuda “to a greater degree.”
Counting their chickens before the eggs are hatched or even laid …..in fact before the chickens even come to roost ……then the excuses and lies come later when their predictions dont work …….ho hum Bermuda business as usual..!Open mouth then insert foot….common Bermuda illness …..foot in mouth disease..!
As someone intimately involved in providing services to the various teams, I can confirm that the financial impact is real and has improved both our top and bottom lines substantially. The work was not easy to get, nor easy to deliver on, however it is real and our hard work is now paying off in real profits.
I repeat, we had to actually work to get the business before we started working. I suggest that approach for anyone else complaining.
The Fox reporting on the welfare of the hens. All is well. Even greater we have more hens
The operative words are, “could be”…The economic impact of the America’s Cup could be bigger than originally forecast, according to Minister of Economic Development Dr. Grant Gibbons.
Let us hope it does; this way we won’t hear more rhetoric from the other side.