NEWPORT - Newport may finally get a chance to grab back some of the America's Cup limelight it lost to the Australians in 1983 with a return of America's Cup boats to the City by the Sea for a regatta next summer.

Newport hosted its first cup in 1930, and retained the privilege for 53 years until the race moved, with its victors, to Australia. Though it has hosted 12-Metre regattas since then, the America's Cup has moved on to a new design rule, called the International America's Cup Class, and these boats have yet to race in the legendary America's Cup waters of Rhode Island Sound.

In 2003, when the Swiss team Alinghi defeated Team New Zealand, the cup remained out of Newport's grasp and will now be held in Europe for the first time, in either Lisbon, Marseilles, Naples, or Valencia, with the final decision to be made on Nov. 26.

But 2007, when the next Cup will be held, is a long way away. America's Cup officials will spend some serious dollars between now and then to try and keep the America's Cup in the forefront of people's minds. To do that, Team Alinghi will host smaller regattas around the world featuring America's Cup class boats. The first regatta was held in San Francisco in September, and local officials and sailing enthusiasts are hoping that Newport will be the next venue before the Swiss take their tour to Europe.

Brad Read, executive director of Sail Newport, notes that "Newport is the logical next stop."

Currently, state and city officials, as well as private business leaders, are in negotiations to host the regatta, which is projected to take place in June of 2004. Townsend Goddard, manager of special projects and communications for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation is a key player in those negotiations.

"I think that if it all works as planned," he said, "it could be the most significant boating event for Newport since 1983. Both the tourism industry and the marine trades industry would benefit significantly in both the long and short terms."

Though it is impossible to put an exact number on the possible economic impact, Goddard estimated the race would pump tens of millions of dollars into the area.

While the prospect of an America's Cup class regatta is certainty exciting, the possibility of the cup returning to Newport in the future is still on folks' minds. Goddard notes that "having America's Cup Class action back in Rhode Island puts us in a great position to play a role in the process moving forward."

Mayor Richard Sardella has caught America's Cup fever as well.

"If the Swiss come here next summer, who knows what's next?" he asked.

BY HEIDI EFFINGER