As the America's Cup nears, so does moving day for merchants who have called the waterfront home for years.

Massive construction projects for the world-famous sailing race and the port will soon begin on Pier 27. To make way, the first of dozens of businesses, including a cabaret show and a limousine service, are laying out plans to move elsewhere. And soccer players are shooting their final goals on a field that will be demolished.

The moves are among the latest of many preparations for the America's Cup, to be held in 2012 and 2013. The regatta is expected to bring millions of people to San Francisco and generate $1 billion.

Final details of the city's transformation for the event emerged last week in a report that is pending the city's approval.

Teatro ZinZanni is leaving its spot between Piers 27 and 29, where it has been entertaining crowds with European-inspired aerobatics and music since 2000.

Its last show will be New Year's Eve and the theater plans to erect its trademark tent on what is currently a parking lot at the intersection of the Embarcadero and Broadway by November, said Annie Jamison, executive director of the production. Those designs will be presented Wednesday before a subcommittee of the city's Historic Preservation Commission.

"Obviously it's a very big change for us as a business," Jamison said of the move. "But we couldn't have expected more than what we got from the city and the port."

More for you News Pier 27 tenants move out for America's Cup

Other Pier 27 tenants on the move include Bauer's Intelligent Transportation, a limo and bus rental service, and the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which leases space to build and store floats for the Chinese New Year Parade.

Both plan to move to Pier 50, said port spokeswoman Renee Martin. She said Bauer's new lease is expected to be introduced at the Board of Supervisors today and approved by the Port Commission next Friday.

Loss of a field

Soccer players, however, appear to be out of luck. Demolition looms for Telegraph Field, which is located on a parking lot between Piers 27 and 29.

The children and adults who play league tournaments and pickup games could leave as soon as the middle of the month, Martin said. An online petition to build another field elsewhere has gathered nearly 1,000 signatures. Many complain the venue is being erased for an event that will last just four months.

"It's such a well-situated field, right there by the Financial District, the only one in the entire area," said Noah Johnson, 24, a legal nonprofit worker who has played there three times a week for two years. He and his friends are used to kicking the ball around, then walking back to his North Beach neighborhood.

The moves have been in the works for months, Mayor Ed Lee said Monday.

"They've all been notified about this issue," he said. "It shouldn't be a surprise to anybody."

As soon as February, two developments are to break ground at Pier 27: the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal - an 88,000-square-foot, two-floor facility that will accommodate cruise ships - and the Northeast Wharf Plaza, a 2.5-acre public space.

The terminal is to be completed by March 2013, according to officials of the port, which is sponsoring the project.

And a walkable area called the America's Cup Village will spring up from Piers 27 to 29, in time for the race finals in July 2013. Pier 27 will be the main spot to watch the races begin and end.

The Port of San Francisco will be shouldering the costs of the tenants' moves.

Rent credit for some

Those moving to spaces along the Embarcadero will receive rent credit in exchange for moving. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce will get nearly $8,000, or two months' worth of rent, Martin said. Rent credits for the others are under negotiation.

San Francisco Soccer, the nonprofit that runs the field, will receive a negotiated sum of money, as will other businesses that leave the waterfront, Martin said.

A total of 77 businesses will have to clear out in the next two years.

Of the remaining tenants, dozens of small offices that use the port for storage, and won't be in the way of construction, will get to keep their spots for at least a year, Martin said. They have not yet identified new locations.

In general, San Franciscans strongly support the America's Cup. But not everyone is a fan of all the changes to come.

"It'll be kind of tragic when we play our last game," said Johnson, the soccer player. "Everyone's trying to win the league for the last time."

Staff writer Heather Knight contributed to this story.