All Hands on Deck! On September 7, 2013, the Americas Cup Defender, Oracle Team USA will line-up against Emirates Team New Zealand, winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup, to start the sailing battle for the oldest international sports trophy in the world: the 34th Americas Cup. The finals are the pinnacle event of this year’s Summer of Sailing in San Francisco. The spectacular foiling AC72 catamarans of the two teams, with wing sails the size of Boeing 777 wings, will sail in 17 possible match races to determine the winner of this most-wanted trophy in sailing. Not only the boats themselves are a huge transformation compared to previous AC events, also the overall set-up on the shore for the most prestigious sailing event is completely different. Alongside San Francisco Bay, three dedicated event locations are constructed and kubik realized exhibits at all three locations for three main parties involved in this epic event in sailing history.
Americas Cup Park, at Piers 27/29, is the newest free public access along San Francisco’s Embarcadero and open daily during the summer. It host’s a wide range of activities for the fans of the America’s Cup and a view to the finish line of the AC Finals. Located in the Parc is the Kids Zone, designed and executed by kubik. It features the Hoisting the Sails grinding challenge, the Picture Yourself on a AC72 photo opportunity, and the huge inflatable Jumping on Board cushion. Next to the Kids Zone, kubik realized the public presentation of Emirates Team New Zealand, consisting of an interactive sailing simulator for Emirates and merchandise areas for two of the main partners of the team: Camper and North Sail. The impressive PUMA YARD is erected at the entrance area of the Park and consists of ten connected 40′ containers. It was installed by kubik and houses the official Americas Cup and Oracle Team USA Store on the ground floor, with the popular PUMA Social Club and Bar upstairs.
The America’s Cup Village, located on Marina Green, provides spectacular views of the start line and the first marks of the AC racecourse. It features the Fan Zone, where kubik created a huge AC water basin with wind fans. Visitors can learn hands-on how to steer and navigate remote control AC boats. In the merchandise zone in the AC Village, the kubik crew erected the PUMA Store. The pop-up store is made out of the of the flexible PUMA event container system as well. And finally, kubik constructed a dedicated hospitality setting for Oracle Team USA on their Team Base on Pier 80. Here again the event container concept offered the best possible solution to create an inviting area for corporate guests and the sailors and crew of Oracle Team USA. The 40 containers were connected, with reception facilities on the ground floor and a bar and BBQ area on the covered lounge deck on the first floor.
We are honoured to be given the opportunity to work for the key players in the 34th Americas Cup, says Hajo Reinders, managing director of kubik Amsterdam. It is a logical continuation of kubik‘s extensive experience during the last three editions of that other major international sailing event, the Volvo Ocean Race. Over the years, we have learned what it takes to deliver visitor experiences, hospitality settings and merchandise areas in harbour cities all over the world. It was a great opportunity to expand our expertise to the specific requirements of 34th Americas Cup. Explaining to kids the principles of sailing, creating merchandise settings that generate attractive revenues for main sponsors and realize hospitality settings that are inviting for different kind of target groups where the starting points for our AC projects. I feel that together with the Americas Cup Event Authority, PUMA, Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team we were able to deliver the best possible solutions on three different event locations in San Francisco. We look forward to a spectacular conclusion of the summer of sailing during the upcoming finals of the 34th Americas Cup in September.