[Steely Dan]

i'm really hoping this happens. not only would it be cool to see, but this would also be really good exposure for chicago to a global audience, especially the jet-setting high spending tourist types. america's cup yacht racing might not elicit too much enthusiasm from the average joe 6-packs around the planet, but it is something that is noticed in more elite circles. imagine wealthy europeans and asians seeing chicago host the races with a sparkling lake michigan and our glorious lakefront parklands and mighty skyline as a backdrop. they might just say to themsleves "wow, chicago looks like it might be worth a visit the next time we travel to the states".

America's Cup organizers have been eyeing Chicago since winter
By Melissa Harris and Blake Schuster
Tribune staff reporters
11:33 a.m. CDT, June 13, 2014

Chicago has been under consideration as a host for the 2017 America's Cup regatta, one of the world's premier sporting events, since the winter, said Don Wilson Jr., who is leading Chicago’s host committee.

“This winter, we were contacted by the America’s Cup people,” said Wilson, founder and CEO of DRW Trading Group, a lucrative electronic trading firm. “And they said, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about having one of the events leading up to the America’s Cup in Chicago.’ So we put together a plan. ...

“It was pretty funny. I think they were here in February. There were icebergs floating in the lake.”

At the end of a two-day tour — and to Wilson’s surprise — the America’s Cup group told Wilson, “This was awesome. We just talked to Russell (Coutts), and we told him we should have the Cup here.”

Coutts is director of the America’s Cup Event Authority, the company established by Larry Ellison, one of the world's wealthiest people with an estimated $51.5 billion fortune, to run the yacht race. Coutts also is the chief executive of Ellison’s Oracle Team USA. Ellison gets to decide the host city of and boat design for the 35th race in 2017. Unlike the Olympics, the more than 160-year-old race does not take place on a regular schedule.

source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,3878620.story