Harbor Is Aiming to Lure Yacht Team

Harbor officials here are trying to pry the America’s Cup racing team of software billionaire Larry Ellison from San Pedro, a move that would bring the world’s yacht racing elite and millions of dollars to the quiet harbor.

Oracle Racing, owned by Ellison, chief executive of Oracle Corp. and the country’s second-richest man, is discussing a move to Ventura, according to officials at the Ventura Port District and a harbor businessman. Gina von Esmarch, an Oracle Racing spokeswoman, said the organization is considering several options but declined to give more details.

On Tuesday, Mayor Sandy Smith said no agreement has been reached with Oracle Racing yet, but city officials hope for a decision soon.

“They seem to like the sailing environment off the Ventura shore as compared to Los Angeles,” said Oscar Pena, general manager of the port district. “We seem to have all the ingredients that this Oracle Racing team is looking for.”

The team has been training in Auckland, New Zealand, since October and plans to follow summer to the Northern Hemisphere in March, Von Esmarch said. It hopes to represent the United States in America’s Cup XXXI, to be held in 2002-03 off the coast of Auckland.

Ellison bought two yachts and other assets last year from AmericaOne, the top-placing U.S. team in the last America’s Cup race. Under AmericaOne, the yachts and their teams trained out of San Pedro, but Ventura representatives are hoping to lure Oracle Racing north, pitching the harbor, Ventura’s small-town ambience and good sailing conditions.

“It’s something that can put the marina on the map,” Smith said.

With multimillion-dollar training yachts, an 80-person team and scores of race watchers converging for the team’s six-month stay, the move could pump millions into the local economy. That could set off a bidding war between Ventura, San Pedro and other ports interested in hosting the team.

For the 1999 Cup challenge, AmericaOne spent an estimated $47 million. The Italian team, sponsored by the fashion house Prada, spent an estimated $55 million to take the cup back from the Kiwis, who first won it in 1995.

The team would train in the Santa Barbara Channel and use part of Ventura Harbor Boatyard for its boats and equipment. It would also rent slips in the Ventura Harbor Village Marina, Pena said.