6 minute read
HOW WE BECAME THE U.S. SAILING CAPITAL
On Feb. 26, Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves and American Magic Skipper Terry Hutchinson signed a lease agreement, making the Port of Pensacola the home of American Magic. The ceremony was held in the shell of Warehouse #10.
"When completed, the building you're in right now will be a 60,000-plus square foot Center for Maritime Excellence," Mayor Reeves said. "This is Warehouse #10, and it will now be, in just a few minutes, a home of American Magic for at least the next decade. It'll stand in plain view as a symbol of what our city's prosperity can be, as well as the central compass of what's in store in Pensacola."
Local businessman Collier Merrill championed the cause and helped American Magic navigate Pensacola, Escambia County and Florida politics. He told the crowd, "We had no playbook. We knew that there's going to be a boat here, and we'll do some other stuff."
Merrill helped secure early funding from the Tourist Development Council (TDC) and the Escambia County Commission. Reeves got an $8.5 million grant from Triumph Gulf Coast and another $5 million for the state.
In a press release, American Magic CEO Mike Cazer said, "American Magic is dedicated to building a premier high-performance sailing franchise in the United States, with a dual mandate to secure victory in the America's Cup and to elevate the prominence of sailing across America. This facility will not only serve as a
Pensacola region."
The Backstory
Significant accomplishments often have backstories. The American Magic deal is no different.
In his remarks, Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh said the sailing team's migration to Pensacola began with a phone call from Dr. Jim Andrews calling then-Mayor Ashton Hayward, and the mayor convincing Hutchinson to visit Pensacola.
Later, Hayward talked with Inweekly about the phone conversation. "Dr. Andrews, I have the pleasure of working with him now, but I've known him for 20-plus years," he said. "People know about Dr. Andrews being a famous orthopedic surgeon, but Jim sailed in the America's Cup in 2000. He would do surgeries in Birmingham and then fly to Maui, where they were building the Abracadabra."
Hayward said Andrews created the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze partly because of his love for sailing and area waters. In 2018, he called Mayor Hayward and shared that American Magic was training in the Florida Keys and might be looking to move elsewhere.
The former mayor recalled, "And I said, 'Well, they need to get up here to Pensacola, Florida. We have an incredible bay.' And so, we got into that conversation, and the rest is history."
Merrill admits he knows nothing about sailing, but his office on the top floor of Seville Tower overlooks Pensacola Bay.
TALBOT WILSON'S VISION
Tom Pace credited the late Talbot Wilson with having the vision that brought American Magic to Pensacola. Pace, Wilson and Hal Smith of the Pensacola Yacht Club put on the 2018 National Championship that brought 300 young sailors from 12 countries to Pensacola. At the Gala Opening Ceremony, American Magic's team greeted the competitors via a live stream, announcing they were partnering with the New York Yacht Club to challenge for the America's Cup.
Pace said the announcement was Wilson's idea. "That was the first time it occurred to us that we really could use sailing, not just because we liked it, but as a legitimate economic driver. We can do these things in our community."
Pace and Wilson began to court Dr. Jim Andrews because he had competed for the America's Cup and knew Doug DeVos, owner of the Orlando Magic and a principal of American Magic.
"Talbot was a long-time sailor, good marketer in Pensacola and a really, really good media guy," Pace said. "We would go over to Andrew's and hang out with him for a little bit. He would tolerate us when we'd talk about sailing, and Jim would tell us these great stories, which centered around him beating New York Yacht Club and the America's Cup Round Robin series."
"Real News with Rick Outzen" the day after the signing. "We don't need a bunch of smokestack industry and concrete crushing plants, but it's nice having the ships coming in and out. That's how we started with its natural deepwater port."
Six years ago, childhood friend Tom Pace invited him to a meeting about how to raise money for American Magic to train in Pensacola. "I talked to my two Ricks, you and Rick Harper, and asked if it was a stupid idea. Harper, the economist for Triumph, said operational money didn't fit Triumph, but it did make sense for the city to help if we were trying to advertise our bay around the world."
Merrill and Pace went to the TDC, which approved $500,000 annually for three years. Merrill said, "Every one of them just liked the idea."
Their next stop was Mayor Grover Robinson, who said he didn't have money for operations but offered land at the port. "Skipper Terry Hutchinson and I were leaving the mayor's office, and I looked at him in the elevator. I said, 'I think we could get Triumph money for a capital outlay at the port if you want to look at it.' We began talking about putting their headquarters there."
Merrill added that many people made the deal happen and that any misstep could have derailed it. He shared, "When Terry and I pulled up to the port yesterday, he grabbed my arm and just said, 'We did it.' I'm glad he did that because it made me stop for a minute and think. We really did."
Pace sent Andrews a seven-page letter about how to convince DeVos and Hutchinson to train in Pensacola Bay. He highlighted Pensacola's strengths and pointed out Pensacola Bay resembled the next America's Cup venue in New Zealand.
He said, "And of course, Dr. Andrews, in his inimitable style, honed that down to calling and saying, 'Y'all just need to come on over again.' He cut through the fluff, and it started from there."
Pace and Wilson set up a meeting for Hutchinson with Merrill, Ellis Bullock, James Simkins and Clark Merritt and Amy Miller from the Port of Pensacola. Hutchinson asked why Merrill was included.
Pace replied, "Well, if we're going to do anything with the team and there's any financial component, there's nobody better who could figure out all the pieces to the puzzle, create the patchwork quilt of the funding of so many different sources to make it work."
At the first meeting, Merrill piped up, "I don't know a single thing about sailing, and I'm probably more confused about it than ever, but this financial component of it to get Pensacola representation on the sail at the pinnacle of the sailing event around the world, that's not a hard lift. You handle the sailing. I'll try to figure out the money, and we'll go from there."
And they did. At the lease signing, Mayor Reeves said of American Magic, "We are honored to welcome them with open arms as permanent Pensacolians who will live, work and play right here. Welcome to the Sailing Capital of the United States of America."
To learn more about American Magic, visit americanmagic.americascup.com. {in}
