Mayor Nutter, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, Dad Vail president Jim Hanna, and Herb Lotman, a local businessman who helped bring the world the Chicken McNugget, said at a City Hall news conference that they were confident they would find the money to keep the regatta here for several more years.
"Dad Vail 2010 will be in Philadelphia, where it belongs," Nutter said. "We never stopped working to bring the Dad Vail back, and today's announcement is a victory for the young men and women who participate in this event, for the many thousands who enjoy the spectacle, and for all Philadelphians."
Dad Vail rowers have raced on the Schuylkill for 56 years, but the regatta lost sponsors this year, casting doubt on its future here. Rumson, an enclave of wealthy financiers, had promised the Dad Vail $250,000, so regatta officials agreed to move the event there in 2010.
But after race organizers visited Rumson in the last week, they realized the site posed challenges. They worried, for example, that they wouldn't have enough space to store boats and might have to rent it from parking lots, people close to the Dad Vail board said.
Some colleges that participated in the event complained that their costs would increase because they would have to travel.
Then, Brady (D., Pa.) and others raised questions about whether Rumson officials would come through with the $250,000.
Hanna was circumspect about the board's exact reasons for keeping the regatta in Philadelphia.
"All voices were heard. All options were evaluated, and a decision was made in the best interest of everyone," he said.
