For (we don’t) color on the dog, we visited with Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves to discuss the regattas planned for March and April.
“These other events that are coming in March and April, the GL-252s, I would argue, are the most advanced boat that will have sailed here in any regatta ever.” said the mayor. “These are 52-foot boats. And just for context, the Patriot 70 feet ran in the America’s Cup, so these are big, expensive, high-tech boats that are going to be out sailing. So they’re doing one regatta on March 19, I believe is the first day, and then they’re doing another in April.”
What does that mean for Pensacola?
Mayor Reeves: “I think it’s six to eight boats in both. Just the crew and the direct folks involved in having seven or eight boats here are 150 to 200 people. That’s not fans, that’s not people who are sailing enthusiasts who come drive down from Atlanta or whatever, counting none of that.”
The city is in preliminary discussions about setting up Plaza de Luna at the end of Palafox Street as a fan interaction zone where the sailing teams can position their trailers and conduct ground operations. This location would be accessible to the public and serve as a natural amphitheater for viewing the race.
The organizers recently visited the site in person and were very enthusiastic about its potential. Mayor Reeves added, “Man, when you think about the true economic development of American Magic, I think we’re going to see a lot of it when we start to see these happening multiple times a year.”
PALAFOX 2.0
We’ve seen the renderings. Mayor Reeves shared what he has heard from the public and downtown businesses.
“This job, in many ways, in many departments, is the ability to navigate and get us to the greatest good,” he said. “Two years in, I have dealt with zero 100% unanimous approvals on anything. I might get 7-0 voted by the council, but I don’t get a 55,000 to zero vote in the public. There’s always going to be things that’s part of the complexity and the obligation of this job is to get us to a landing place that does the most good for the most people that makes the most sense financially.”
Parking on Palafox will change, particularly between Garden Street and Romana Street.
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Photo by Dean Ricciardi on Unsplash
