NZ Herald editorial: Costly America's Cup decision looks like the right one

If the sailors retain the Cup, the decision this week will be confirmed as the right one. Photo / Hamish Hooper

Editorial

The public price tag for hosting the next America's Cup will be in excess of $200 million.

It is a hefty sum, and many communities and interest groups, especially outside Auckland, will be wondering why a sport with limited global participation gets rewarded with public funds ahead of other claimants.

For a start the plan for the Cup bases is not without risk. Work will need to get cracking if deadlines are to be met. The $212m budget is a lot, and that was reached after $50m had been sliced from a competing plan.

Taxpayers and ratepayers will want the agreed project to be managed efficiently and transparently. They will not want the job to become a bottomless pit of expenditure.

The version settled by the parties sees Emirates Team New Zealand, the defender, move into the Viaduct Events Centre and Luna Rossa occupy the end of Hobson Wharf. Space will be created on Wynyard Wharf for the other challenging syndicates.

By the time the yachts take to the water in 2021, it will have been more than 20 years since New Zealand hosted its first defence of the Cup.

The event in 2000 was a catalyst for the rejuvenation of the Auckland waterfront and confirmation that New Zealand had an innovative nautical industry.

In the two decades since the Waitemata Harbour came alive with the maritime spectacle, the country has entrenched its reputation in the design and construction of yachts, masts, sails and gear.

The successful challenge by Team NZ in Bermuda last year showcased an inspired edge in wing sails, foils and highly skilled crew which have taken yachting into areas barely imagined when Sir Peter Blake's Black Magic took the Cup away from Dennis Conner at San Diego in 1995.

Blake had a fine team and a great boat — as did Grant Dalton when he finally prevailed on the Great Sound in Bermuda last year.

The emphatic 7-1 victory in the Caribbean — and even the heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Oracle in San Francisco in 2013 — served as reminders of New Zealand as a smart sailing nation. Having the next regatta here confirms this reputation.

Against this backdrop it is reasonable that the Government, Auckland Council and Team NZ agreed to the deal.

Economic Development Minister David Parker deserves credit for keeping a lid on costs and starting a process which should eventually see the end of fuel tanks on Wynyard Point.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff has gone with an option that he initially did not favour and Dalton has accepted the merits of a hometown solution against the appeal of a foreign port.

Promoters of the regatta should not try to sell the decision for more than it is. Based on the evidence of the 2011 Rugby World Cup there will be no bonanza, though tourism, construction and the marine industry should benefit.

If the sailors retain the Cup, the oldest trophy in world sport, the decision this week will be confirmed as the right one.