$18 Million Opening Bid on eBay for Marketing Rights to The Sausalito Challenge for the America's Cup.Sports Editors/News Editors SAUSALITO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2004 An opening bid of $18 million was received quickly after the start of an innovative auction on eBay.com for an exclusive sponsorship and marketing rights package covering an America's Cup America's Cup: see sailing. America's Cup Most prestigious trophy in international yachting competition. First offered under another name in Britain in 1851, the cup was won easily by the America from New York and subsequently became known as the veteran's Sausalito-based bid to regain the fabled sailing trophy for the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . "eBay has told us this is their highest-priced auction ever and we had our minimum bid in the first 12 hours," said John Sweeney John Sweeney is the name of:
"It proves that our challenge, which will be the first in history to be filmed for TV and the Internet every step of the way, has generated a huge amount of interest. America's Cup fans can follow the auction through our website, www.challenge-series.com, or on eBay itself." The exclusive rights package offers the winning bidder the opportunity for unparalleled worldwide marketing exposure during The Sausalito Challenge's campaign for the 32nd America's Cup contest, which begins June 23, 2007 in Valencia, Spain For the Valencia wine region, see . Valencia (Spanish: Valencia [ba'lenθja];[1] Valencian: València [va'ɫɛnsia]) is the capital of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia and its province. . "We are building a revolutionary new boat, assembling top sailors SAILORS. Seamen, mariners. Vide Mariners; Seamen; Shipping Articles. from four different America's Cup teams and approaching the entire campaign in a different way," said Sweeney, who competed with billionaire Larry Ellison's Oracle BMW BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. team during their unsuccessful $100 million quest to win the last America's Cup. The ultimate winner was the Swiss boat Alinghi. "The 2007 America's Cup campaign is actually beginning this year, with nine different lead-up regattas and the Louis Vuitton The Louis Vuitton Company (more commonly known simply as Louis Vuitton) is a luxury French fashion and leather goods brand and company, headquartered in Paris, France. It is a division of the French holding company, LVMH Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy S.A. series all taking place between now and the start of the Cup race itself," said Sweeney, who owns three former America's Cup racing boats with syndicate co-founder Tina Kleinjan. Both Sweeney and Kleinjan are accomplished racing sailors and highly successful entrepreneurs. "Unlike previous Cups, this means a huge, ongoing opportunity for a sponsor to market to a worldwide audience all the way up to the 2007 Cup. We have already secured $10 million in pledges that will accompany a winning bid and give us the budget we need to mount a serious challenge in Spain." As with most eBay auctions, The Sausalito Challenge package has an undisclosed reserve price which must be met for the sponsorship and marketing rights to be awarded. A number of large corporations have expressed interest privately, Sweeney said, noting that this auction has an immediate, or "Buy It Now," price of $35 million. "Our package also includes The Challenge Series, where America's Cup Class Yachts race on San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay, 50 mi (80 km) long and from 3 to 13 mi (4.8–21 km) wide, W Calif.; entered through the Golden Gate, a strait between two peninsulas. , and 'Sailing Billboards,' which utilize Cup Yachts to display advertising messages as they sail up and down the San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden city front/financial district," said Sweeney. The Sausalito Challenge, which is supported by The Sausalito Yacht Club, is running the eBay auction through April 23. "Most America's Cup teams have six or eight sponsors, which dilutes the value of the marketing," said Sweeney. "We know that a number of very large corporations have downloaded information from our website and we believe there is an adventurous company out there that will see the tremendous value here and want to own this package." |
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