Auckland loses yacht race bonanza

By NATASHA HARRIS

Auckland has lost the $16.5 million Volvo round-the-world yacht race stopover to Melbourne.

The yachts have passed through Auckland every race since 1977 but Volvo says it wanted "fresh and interesting" changes and Melbourne put up a "fantastic bid" for the next race, which starts in late 2005.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO Glenn Bourke said New Zealand had done a fine job in the past but it was time for a change.

"There was a bit of a move within Volvo to make some changes and Melbourne was one of the logical ones geographically. It's more on the route, it simplifies the race a bit as you don't have to come as far north ... and it has a population base which probably supports an event of this magnitude."

Auckland, he said, would still be visited by the race but only as a "pit stop", which could be just a few hours.

Auckland Mayor John Banks was not surprised by the decision because of the high position on the Volvo board of Bourke, an Australian.

"We're very disappointed, but having said that, we're not at all surprised as we could see it coming.

"Glenn is a fine fellow and a good Australian but we knew that when Glenn was appointed we were on the back foot.

"Every disappointment is a challenge and Auckland has had a couple of disappointments recently and we've just got to get on and make things happen for ourselves."

Mr Banks said the council was working on a "very exciting" yacht race to come to New Zealand, involving syndicates from the last America's Cup, but he declined to comment further.

In June last year, an independent report prepared for the Auckland City Council said the Auckland stopover generated economic activity of $16.5 million in the region.

The report found that without Auckland's $1.54 million investment in the stopover over two years, the race would not have come to Auckland and its economic and employment benefits would not have flowed through to local businesses and households.

"The stopover was a huge success," Councillor Scott Milne declared then.

"It reinforced Auckland's position as a vibrant and exciting centre for events and as a premier yachting centre."

Events and activities directly related to the stopover generated most of the economic impact, the spending coming largely from corporate sponsors (40 per cent) and race syndicates (22 per cent).

Market Economics, which prepared the report, estimated the event generated additional spending of at least three times the $16.5 million generated directly from the stopover.

For example, at least one syndicate based its operations here, spending about $10 million on boat building, sails and training.

Less tangible benefits included maintaining Auckland's and New Zealand's international profile as a major sailing region, promoting the development of the local marine sector and making the most of the investment in the Viaduct Harbour.

It is the second big blow this year. The first was the loss of the America's Cup, which Team New Zealand estimated had pumped between $2.6 billion and $2.7 billion into the country's economy since 1995.

Mr Bourke said his Australian citizenship bore no influence on Volvo's moving the stopover to Melbourne.

"I'm completely impartial. I do things in the best interests of Volvo.

"I have many, many friends who are New Zealanders and my nationality has nothing to do with it."

Mr Bourke, a former Olympic sailor and 3-time world laser champion, was chief executive of Germany's illbruck Challenge, winner of the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race.

The 2005-2006 race will begin and end in Europe, with stopovers including Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Baltimore, Southampton and Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Volvo Ocean Race was known as the Whitbread Round the World Race until 1997.

Volvo Ocean Race

Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine