Volvo boat race sails by Annapolis

Baltimore and Annapolis hosted the prestigious around-the-world yacht race in 1998, 2002 and 2006.

And although the 2011 event could pump $20 million into Maryland's economy, bid committee members said asking the state to even partially fund the roughly $3.5 million needed to host the race would be a tremendous burden.

Raising money locally also could jeopardize other projects in the works, such as the National Sailing Hall of Fame, said Terry Hasseltine, director of the state's Office of Sports Marketing.

And it would require the state to look outside Maryland for funds in areas where sailing might not resonate, he said.

"It's hard for us to put that amount of money into this landscape and say, 'For a measly $3 (million) to $5 million, we can make this happen,' " Hasseltine said.

He said in a July 8 letter to Volvo officials that he hopes race organizers will keep "Maryland and our tremendous port destinations front of mind as you consider future race stopover locations."

Maryland is now looking to bid on the Senior Olympic games in 2015 or 2017. Hasseltine said the state would have to generate $3.5 million to $4.5 million over a period of time for the games, instead of putting money up front for the Volvo event now.

Formerly known as the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race is considered one of the "Super Bowl" events of sailing. Crews sail on 70-foot boats in a race that spans more than 30,000 nautical miles.

Volvo bought the event in the fall of 1998.

That year, the race drew huge crowds to Baltimore and Annapolis and generated an estimated $52 million for the state, officials said.

Lizzie Ward, press officer for the Volvo Ocean Race, said it was "quite disappointing" that Baltimore and Annapolis will not bid on the race this year, but it's also understandable.

"We really enjoyed working with them,"

Ward said. "They really knew how to do it. Hopefully they will be back in the future once things settle down a bit."

Ward declined to comment on what other cities are bidding on the race.

Connie Del Signore, president and chief executive officer of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau, said it's "regrettable" the state can't afford to put on an international event that not only provides a huge economic impact, but also serves as a marketing tool.

"This is something we can say we have been able to host and manage," she said, adding that "hopefully we'll be able to regain it in the future."

Past successes

Volvo organizers place emphasis on host ports that enter a boat in the race. Race officials chose Boston as the stopover port for the 2008-2009 race. The city entered a Puma boat in the race.

The only time Maryland fielded an entry was in 1998 with Chessie Racing, a boat funded by George Collins, former chief executive officer of T. Rowe Price.

"We were very, very fortunate that in 1998 everything converged: local boat, new event, major corporate business leader on the boat," said Lee Tawney, director of Ocean Race Chesapeake, the nonprofit group that held the events in Baltimore and Annapolis. Tawney also is the executive director of the National Sailing Hall of Fame.

Maryland didn't have a local boat in the 2002 or 2006 events, but the private sector still helped raise $1.3 million for the event in 2006, he said. That amount included $350,000 from the state, Tawney said.

The cities of Baltimore and Annapolis donated another $1.2 million in public services, while organizations such as Constellation Energy provided in-kind donations, Tawney said.

Greg Barnhill, chairman of Ocean Race Chesapeake, said the 2006 event generated an economic impact of $40 million that was split evenly between Baltimore and Annapolis.

Though the event was deemed a success, Barnhill said there's certainly more of a "buy-in when there is a local boat. The interest is still high. Now whether it's as high, I would say no."

In addition to the costs associated with putting on the massive event, state officials said Volvo had become more demanding over the years. Bid committee members this year recall paging through a 700-page document outlining requirements for the 2011 event.

"Everyone kind of looked around the table and said, 'My God we're not going to be able to do this,' " said Gary Jobson, an ESPN sailing analyst who was instrumental in organizing the Volvo Ocean races in Annapolis and Baltimore.

Jobson said he thinks the state was "quite responsible" in its decision not to submit a formal bid for the 2011 race.

"In this economic environment, with the demands required to host the race, it just wasn't in the cards to do this in 2011," he said.