Northland businesses and council leaders are gutted at losing out on a potential $10 million windfall after America's Cup holders Oracle scuppered plans to train in New Zealand this summer.
American billionaire Larry Ellison had decided to base his team at Marsden Cove marina, to prepare his catamarans for the defence of the Auld Mug.
Oracle ground crew were arriving in October with the yachtsmen, including Sir Russell Coutts, coming in January and staying until the end of May next year.
They had asked Hopper Development, which controls the marina, to find 50 houses to rent for the crew and their families. That would have pulled in more than $2m in rent.
But plans were dashed when Oracle revealed this week it was staying in San Francisco instead.