Supervisors press for stronger guarantees, local-hire rules as America's Cup deal advances

San Francisco's Budget and Finance Committee voted to send the city's revisions to the America's Cup development agreement to the full Board of Supervisors, after weeks of negotiations produced a string of compromises on how the port's infrastructure costs would be repaid and how private fundraising would be guaranteed.

The committee's decision followed a long hearing in which Port staff, city budget and economic-development officials, the America's Cup organizing committee (ACOC) and the event authority described changes aimed at protecting the Port of San Francisco's finances while keeping the event viable. The Port has agreed to remove long-term development rights for Pier 29 from the reimbursable waterfall and instead accept a $12.3 million cash-equivalent placeholder or other port-approved replacement, officials said.

Mark Buell, chair of the ACOC, told supervisors the private fundraising effort has produced pledges of $12.5 million so far and that the committee is prepared to deliver near-term cash for city bills. "I will stand here today and commit to you that you will have between 9 and 9 and a half [million dollars]…