EXCLUSIVE: Volvo Ocean Race Is Targeting Return to Newport in 2018
GoLocalProv News Team
EXCLUSIVE: Volvo Ocean Race Is Targeting Return to Newport in 2018
GoLocalProv has learned that the successful Volvo Ocean Race will return to Rhode Island to 2018, pending the execution of the long negotiated contract.
According to multiple sources involved in the effort to return the successful race to Newport, an announcement may be held as early as Friday of this week.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe race drove tens of millions into the Rhode Island economy. Efforts to reach Brad Read of Sail Newport, the local non-profit who hosted the event have been unsuccessful.
Before the Volvo Ocean Race left Newport for Lisbon, Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad shared with the media that the Newport stopover saw the most visitors (quadruple that of any previous North American Stopover) since the race started visiting North America in 1989-’90, and he noted the enthusiasm of local residents.
“I’ve been to an American stopover seven times now and can’t recall anything as good as this,” Frostad said of Newport last May.
Frostad also said that although it took a while for the race to visit Newport, a key to returning would be a strong commitment from governing officials. Frostad noted that Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and RI Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed were committed to bringing the race back to the City-by-the-Sea.
As GoLocal previously reported last June,“Hosting a stopover is a joint venture,” Frostad said in May. “We bring a show to the city and the city has to bring infrastructure and together we make the stopover. A good stopover has to do with enthusiasm and commitment from the government. It’s very much about the commitment of the government and the delivery partner, which in this case is Sail Newport. The local government, state government, governor and senator have all committed what they can to make the next stopover successful.”
The next race begins in 2017 thru 2018.
According to Volvo, "Every stopover will feature fantastic free entertainment: concerts, ceremonies, celebrity appearances, and activities within the Volvo Ocean Race Experience."
The 2015 sites were considered major successes, "One thing's for sure - fans visiting Alicante, Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Lisbon, Lorient, The Hague and Gothenburg can look forward to something special. The Boatyard, the shared service centre for the new one-design Volvo Ocean 65, is a brand new feature that will let you see right inside the daily operations needed to keep these machines running."
Success Of Newport Stop over in 2015
More than 130,000 people visited the Race Village at Fort Adams State Park between May 5 - 17, 2015.
In comparison, 65,000 visited Newport for the 2012 America's Cup finals.
The large crowds during the 12 day event ranked Newport ahead of Abu Dhabi and on equal footing with Cape Town, even though Newport’s population is a fraction of those ports.
Read - the leader of the effort to bring the race to Newport was named "Seahorse Sailor Of The Month" for July by Seahorse Magazine for his leadership and the success of the Newport Stopover.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published at 3:30 pm on October 28th.
Ten Greatest Days in New England Sports History
February 1, 2004
Patriots 2004 Super Bowl
In 2004, the Patriots captured their third Super Bowl in four years. The win put New England in the group of the small number of dynasty teams in the NFL, joining the Packers, Steelers and 49ers.
Super Bowl XXXVIII finished with the Patriots holding on to a 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The game was also famous for the infamous wardrobe malfunction involving Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.
December 21, 2010
Longest Winning Streak
The UConn women broke UCLA men's streak of the most consecutive wins in a season.
They dominated their sport like no other and on December 21, 2010, UConn's 93-62 win over Florida State put UConn women in the #1 position.
Later, Sports Illustrated named UConn women as the #3 greatest dynasty in sports in the decade behind only the Lakers and Patriots.
June 12, 1984
Celtics v. Lakers
The 1980's were the glory days of the NBA and the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers were the two teams that elevated the play and excitement of the era.
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were the superstars and were the feature players. Their rivalry started in the NCAA finals when Magic dazzled and Bird fizzled.
On June 12, 1984, the Celtics won game seven, 111-102 with Cedric Maxwell leading the Celts in scoring with 24 points and a team leading 8 assists. Bird was MVP of the series.
October 27, 2004
Curse of the Bambino
In 2004, after the dramatic historic come from behind win against the Yankees, the Red Sox went on to the World Series and swept the Cardinals 4-0, to win the first title since 1918.
The World Series win broke the proverbial "Curse of the Bambino" which had been in place since the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
November 23, 1984
BC v. Miami
There could not have been a more unlikely superstar and there could not have been a bigger stage to pull off the most dramatic win when BC beat the defending National Champions. Quarterback Doug Flutie put on the best show - maybe ever -- in college football.
Flutie threw for 474 yards and 4 touchdowns and the last TD was to Gerard Phelan on the final play - maybe the most exciting play ever in sports.
Final score: BC 47, University of Miami 45.
October 13, 2013
Patriots Beat New Orleans on Last Second TD; Red Sox Comeback from 5 Runs Down v. Tigers
New England sports fans enjoyed the most improbable double header comeback wins.
First, the Patriots upset the undefeated New Orleans Saints with a 70 yard last minute drive that saw the Patriots score with just 5 seconds to steal a 30-27 win. The Saints had numerous opportunities to put the game away.
Then, the Boston Red Sox in Game Two of the ALCS at home rallied from a 5 run deficit in the 6th inning and came back on a David Ortiz grand slam to tie and a 9th inning hit to win. The Red Sox had lost Game One of the series 1-0 and were on the verge in Game Two of losing any chance of winning the series.
May 10, 1970
Bruins Beat Blues 4-3 in OT to Win Stanley Cup
The Boston Bruins took New England by storm behind the play of Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr.
In the final game and the score tied 3-3, Orr scored the winning and iconic goal to launch the Bruins into the hearts of New Englanders and to create one of sports most memorable photos.
April 28, 1966
Celtics Win 8th Straight, Red's Last Game, Russell First African American Head Coach
The win by the Boston Celtics over the Los Angeles Lakers in 1966 was a triple header for sports.
First, the 1966 Championship was the 8th straight and set a record never to be matched.
Second, it was the last game that Red Auerbach would ever coach.
Third, as Red stepped down, the enigmatic Bill Russell was named player coach - he was the first African American pro coach of the modern sports era. (Brown alum, Fritz Pollard coached pro football).
February 3, 2002
Patriots Upset Rams to Win 1st Super Bowl
The New England Patriots were 14 point underdogs to the Rams and this was expected to be one of the biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history.
Instead, the Patriots played physical defense and although outgained 427-267 in yards, went on to best the Rams.
The Patriots won on a last second field goal to win their 1st Super Bowl by a score of 20-17.
October 20, 2004
Red Sox Come Back from Down 0-3, to Beat Yankees in ACLS
The Red Sox were looking at another sad loss to the New York Yankees three games to zero and down to 3-4 in the ninth inning and down to their last three outs. The Sox scratched a run off a stolen base by Dave Roberts and a clutch hit by Bill Mueller to tie the game 4-4 and send it into extra innings.
In the 12th inning, the Red Sox scored two runs off a walk off homer by David Ortiz.
The Red Sox went on to make history winning three more games.
