Prominent Sports and Entertainment Leaders appointed to Advisory Board

Some of the most prominent leaders in sports, entertainment and business are bringing a wealth of experience to the 34th America’s Cup through their appointment to its Advisory Board. One of the most iconic events in sport, the competition will be staged in the US for the first time in nearly two decades, on San Francisco Bay.

Joining the advisory board are L. Jay Cross, President of Related Hudson Yards and formerly the President of the New York Jets; Geoffrey Mason, Senior Production Specialist of ESPN and former Executive Producer at ABC; Harvey Schiller, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Global Options Group, Inc and the former Chairman of YankeeNets; Peter Ueberroth, Chairman of The Contrarian Group and previously CEO of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC); and Casey Wasserman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wasserman Media Group.

Cross, an Olympic sailor, is former President of the NBA Miami Heat and NFL New York Jets. Currently he is President of Hudson Yards, a 12 million square foot, mixed-use development in New York City on Manhattan’s West Side.

Mason has five decades of network television experience, including seven Olympic Games, six soccer World Cups and many America’s Cups. He was recently inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The former Executive Producer at ABC Sports, he has also worked for NBC and Fox, and was instrumental in the launch of the NFL Network.

Schiller also has Olympic connections as past Secretary General of the US Olympic Committee. He worked for Turner Broadcasting as well as chairing YankeeNets, which owned some of the most famous US sports franchises: the New York Yankees, New Jersey Devils and New Jersey Nets. Currently his Global Options Group advises and consults to leading corporations, governmental organizations and NGOs in the US and overseas.

Ueberroth serves as Chairman of The Contrarian Group, Inc., an investment and management company. He served as President and CEO of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC), and was the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. In 1999, with three partners, Peter led the purchase of the Pebble Beach Company from the previous Japanese ownership; he currently serves as co-chairman. Peter is on the board of directors of The Coca-Cola Company, Aircastle Ltd, Easton-Bell Sports and the Irvine Company, a privately held company.

Wasserman has built-up one of the world’s giants in sports marketing. Amongst the many business interests of Wasserman Media Group are Media Rights, Consulting, Partnership and Business Development, Action Sports and Olympics, and representing leading players in golf, soccer, basketball, cycling, Major League Baseball and the National Football League.

"The caliber of the individual board members and collective experience represents a huge asset to the America’s Cup," said Larry Ellison, team owner of ORACLE TEAM USA.

A further appointment to the Advisory Board will be made later in the year.

The America’s Cup has dedicated itself to growing competitive sailing by the addition of the annual AC World Series races as well as through enhanced live television across Europe, Asia and the United States. Recently, NBC announced that the network will provide live coverage of the 2013 September America’s Cup Finals as well as coverage of this year’s racing in Newport and San Francisco.

The new format of America’s Cup racing showcases fast, wing-sailed catamarans on short courses close to shore rather than miles out to sea, developing a new audience and engaging new partners for the competition.

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