Cox Communications has signed an agreement with Sail Newport to sponsor the Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover next month, where it will also provide telecommunications services for the "Race Village" constructed for the event.
Newport, R.I., is the only North American stopover during the nine-month long global sailing event. Newport Sail and other Rhode Island community organizations are co-hosting the stopover, which begins May 5 and continues through May 17. The Race Village will be at Fort Adams State Park on Aquidneck Island, located in Narragansett Bay just off the Newport coast.
The sponsorship deal makes Cox the exclusive broadband provider connecting the Race Village's team compounds, sponsor pavilions, media center, broadcast compound and hospitality centers; it will also provide Internet service for live coverage of the boat arrivals, In-Port Racing and Leg Start events. Cox said it will leverage its fiber network on Aquidneck Island to provide ultra-high-speed Internet services for the Race Village.
"Cox Business will be running the technical operations side of the stopover, making sure teams, staff, organizers and the media get what they need with over a Gigabit of Internet access to go along with these high-performance boats," Ross L. Nelson, Cox Business vice president, said.
"We have worked with Cox as a technology partner on other high-profile sailing events, and they know what an international event of this magnitude needs to keep flawless Internet service running throughout the entire event," Brad Read, director of the Newport Stopover, said.
The Race Village will also be open to the public free of charge during the 12-day festival, Newport Sail said.
The Volvo Ocean Race has been in Auckland, New Zealand, and is scheduled to depart soon for a stopover in Itajai, Brazil. From there it will head north to Newport, with boats scheduled to arrive May 7-9.
