Good News, Bad News

Now for some really important and good news for the AC teams here in Valencia....

According to the Starbucks (Spain) website, the long-rumored Starbucks Coffee store in Valencia is now open. We cannot attest first hand to the store's opening. However, the CC Blog always tries to keep Challengers and our supporters up to date on important developments in and around VLC, so we will endeavor to do a Starbucks venue check ASAP.

The bad news? The AC teams are based in the Port America's Cup, and the new store is in the city center at calle San Vicente Mártir 44, just behind (west) of the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. That's a good 15 minutes drive from the PAC even when traffic is light; it rarely is in that part of town.

But with this first Starbucks opening in Valencia, how long can it be before there is one in every popular area of town, to say nothing of every other street corner? Many AC team members will be hoping the next Starbucks is located on lower Avenida del Puerto, or at least in "Cup Town" in the Avenida Alameda/Francia area -- only a five-minute bike ride or drive from the Port.

There is no truth to the rumor that CC Chair Alessandra Pandarese (Milano, ITA; Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team) has already appointed a task force to lobby Starbucks for a store closer to the PAC. However, we understand that the McKee brothers (Seattle, USA; Luna Rossa Challenge) have persuaded their Challenge Rep, Bruno Finzi (Milano, ITA), to ask that the matter be placed on the agenda for the next CC meeting despite his personal antipathy. Signor Finzi said, "Americans make coffee about as well as they design clothes."

Alinghi's marketing director Margrethe Van der Stroom (Geneva, SUI) said, "Any attempt by the Challenger Commission to bring Starbucks closer to the America's Cup will be viewed suspiciously by Alinghi. One of our key sponsor-partners is Nespresso, and pushing for a Starbucks store closer to the PAC could be considered ambush marketing."

Alinghi's general counsel, Hamish Ross (Auckland, NZL) went further. The aging beachbum called from la playa in front of his "bach" (Kiwi for holiday cottage) between rides on his surfboard to say, "Such a move by the CC could be actionable under the Protocol's 'Neutral Management' clause, especially since I never drink coffee -- not even Nespresso."

This evening (Monday morning in NZL) we reached Emirates Team New Zealand's Challenge Rep James Farmer, QC (Auckland, NZL), who was breakfasting at Herne Bay's trendy Andiamo cafe. Over a double latte he thumbed out an email via his Blackberry: "I don't see what all the fuss is about. These days in Auckland we have a Starbucks on almost every corner, so why not Valencia? Our team, however, feels strongly that the stores' starting times should not be later than usual just because this is Spain. Anyone who feels otherwise needs a good cleansing ale -- preferably a Stella Damm -- to clear their heads."

Former CC Chairman George Clyde (San Francisco, USA) and the Challenge Rep for France's Areva Challenge said, "We need all the caffeine in this Cup we can get. I am not sure you can get one at Starbucks, but my wife and I strongly recommend a drink called an Espresso Martini. After a couple of those all around, we might even get agreement with Alinghi on a fifth member of the Jury."

The Chairman of Sweden's Victory Challenge, Hugo Stenbeck (Stockholm, SWE), will arrive in Valencia late this evening especially to check out the new Starbucks first thing tomorrow morning. "Even though Red Bull has signed up with us for the long haul, RB goes better with a little vodka in the evening. Some Starbucks-style caffeine in the morning is a good thing," Mr Stenbeck said, "especially after all the long days and late nights we put in trying to capture our sport's Holy Grail."

Wolf Dietz, United Internet Team Germany's Challenge Rep, welcomed the news. "Anything's better than German coffee, even Starbucks," Herr Dietz said after returning to Valencia from a week in Kiel (GER) at the German Sailing Grand Prix. "At least we know how to make good automobiles."

BMW Oracle's Challenge Rep, Russell Green (Auckland, NZL) was on holiday in Austria and, no surprise, could not be reached for comment. He did, however, email to say that with a post as frivolously apochryphal as this one, it is obvious the CC's Blog Editor has too much time on his hands and should be assigned some real work.

In the coming days, no doubt this important AC 32 development will receive the full coverage it deserves -- including an extensive photo spread about the new Starbucks store on the Valencia Sailing blogsite, which will lead to a feature story on the ACM website shortly thereafter.



The first Starbucks in VLC reportedly is now open at C/ San Vicente, 44. Graphic courtesy of Google Maps. Our thanks to Señor Sie for the tip.