Race village for Volvo sailing event opens in Newport

By foxsports
Published

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) The race village for the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Newport has opened, kicking off a 12-day celebration of the offshore sailing event.

Gov. Gina Raimondo and other state officials gathered Tuesday at Fort Adams State Park for the opening ceremony. The village will be open daily through May 17.

Raimondo says the event is an opportunity to showcase Rhode Island and Fort Adams State Park, where a new pier was opened to the public after a year of construction.

Newport is the only North American stopover on this year's race. The teams are expected to arrive this Thursday.

The teams left Oct. 11 from Alicante, Spain, and will make several stops before finishing in Gothenburg, Sweden, in June. The race covers 44,580 miles over nine months.