Valencia wins bid to host '07 America's Cup

GENEVA (AP) -- Valencia, Spain, on Wednesday won the bid to host the next edition of the prestigious America's Cup yachting competition, the first time since 1851 the race will be held in Europe.

The Spanish city on the Mediterranean beat out stiff competition from the Atlantic port of Lisbon, Portugal, and the Mediterranean ports of Marseille, France, and Naples, Italy, to win the right to host the event, due to take place in 2007.

"Valencia has matched the criteria the best," said Michel Bonnefous, CEO of AC management, which is organizing the event. "The sailing conditions have always been our first criterion, and the combination of all the other criteria and the sailing conditions are the reason we chose Valencia."

Manuel Casanova, president of Valencia's yacht club, was euphoric as a crowd at Valencia's city hall celebrated. "It's fantastic, fantastic," he said. "Now let's get to work."

Valencia's mayor Rita Barbera was due to receive the America's Cup trophy from a delegation head by Bonnefous in Valencia later Wednesday.

The cup takes its name from the victor of the first race off the English coast in 1851 when the New York-owned schooner America beat Britain's Aurora. The cup remained in U.S. hands -- and was held in U.S. waters -- until 1983, when Australia II's victory took the race down under.

The move of venue to Europe comes after the Swiss boat Alinghi defeated Team New Zealand in March in Auckland. But the fact that Switzerland is landlocked made it impossible for a traditional home defense for the Swiss team.

Jose Salinas of the Valencia bid committee said the decision made the city and all of Spain proud. "We have to deliver the best America's Cup in history for competitors and for the public," Salinas said.

Gerardo Pombo, president of the Spanish Sailing Federation, described the decision as a pivotal moment for Valencia.

"The change that Valencia will see will be so monumental and so important for the city it will be even greater than that experienced by Barcelona when it hosted the Olympic Games," he told the Spanish news agency Efe.

The selection of the host of the 32nd edition of the venerable race was announced at a glittering ceremony in a luxury hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva by Pierre-Yves Firmenich, commodore of the Geneva Nautical Society -- the yacht club that is home to America's Cup holder Alinghi.

It was a come-from behind victory for Valencia, after Lisbon had long been seen as the front-runner in the competition.

"Of course we are disappointed, but in this game you can only have one winner, so we accept it," Patrick Monteiro de Barros, head of the Lisbon bid committee, told the AP.

"I always said that AC Management was doing a very good job, so if they picked Valencia, they have their reasons. I have to respect their decision. I think our bid was very good. They must have had a difficult time choosing between the two."

Monteiro de Barros said he thought all four bids were strong.

"But I always feared that Valencia was the strongest competitor. They were very serious, very professional. I wish them well."

Marseille Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin told a news conference: "Defeat is a disappointment, but well done to the winners. Maybe Valencia made a stronger financial impression, because I don't think it was down to the infrastructures."

In Naples, about 200 people including Mayor Rosa Russo Jervolino gathered to watch the announcement live on a giant screen set up inside the city hall, news reports said. Many booed when Valencia was named as the host, the reports said.

"That's too bad, that's too bad," Jervolino was quoted by the ANSA news agency as saying after the announcement was made. "But the satisfaction for bringing Naples among the final bidders remains," she said.

About 60 cities initially expressed interest in being the host, with the shortlist cut to four before Wednesday's announcement by AC Management, the company set up by Alinghi to select the host and organize the tournament.

Valencia had already beaten out the challenge of Palma de Majorca to be the sole Spanish bid and has the backing of sailing aficionado King Juan Carlos and the Spanish government.

Organizers plan to build team compounds and an America's Cup Village in the interior basin of the Port of Valencia, a few kilometers (miles) from the city center and close to the city's seafront promenade.

Because Valencia's bay deepens close to the shore, races can take place within viewing distance of the city's beaches and seafront promenade.

Spain's finance minister has said he expects hosting the America's Cup will generate euro1.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) and create more than 10,000 jobs.

AC Management said it made the choice based on the city's infrastructure and ability to handle such a large event, in addition to the harbor arrangements and viewing opportunities for spectators and -- above all -- sailing conditions.