There is little time for bureaucracy, feasibility studies and assessing the political climate if the Government is to capture the regatta ahead of what is understood tobe strong interest from Europe.
Grant Dalton’s charm offensive in offering the Cup to Auckland has stirred a great deal of interest with what some reports termed a “mates’ rates” offer.
The figures have not been confirmed but it’s understood Emirates Team New Zealand could be looking for $150 million – $75m from the Government and Auckland Council combined and $75m from private backers.
That is considerably less than the $200m usually tossed about as necessary to stage the event and fund the campaign.
It now remains to be seen whether Auckland/New Zealand can knit together the same kind of package Barcelona did for last year’s regatta – an amalgam of Government, city government and private investors’ funds – in double-quick time.
Team New Zealand have committed to announcing the 2027 venue by June 20.
That has to happen because of the time needed for teams to understand what is required – especially if there are changes to the boats, as is expected, and to build and test them.
Politically, it’s been a rough time for the Government as well as the nation in the much-documented cost of living crisis and inflation battles.
They have fallen substantially in the polls; measures like David Seymour’s frontal attack on school lunches and his divisive Treaty of Waitangi bill have helped sour the mood.
Tax cuts were one thing, even if they weren’t eaten up by rising costs, but this Government has earned a reputation for being happy to irritate people if it means saving a dollar – like school lunches, ending half-price public transport fares for young people, road user charges, stricter welfare controls and so on.
Emirates Team New Zealand, with Luna Rossa in its rear-view mirror during the 36th America's Cup in Auckland. Photo / ACE, Studio Borlenghi
There may be no better time for the Government to contribute to a national/international event that will show New Zealand in a good light, particularly tourism – still struggling to reach pre-Covid levels.
A Government that threw its weight behind the 38th America’s Cup would flog the tourism and trade horse for all its worth, as the then Government did successfully in 2011 at the America’s Cup in San Francisco.
It’s no coincidence Dalton’s move comes on the back of the University of Barcelona study which showed Barcelona benefitted by nearly $2 billion from hosting the 37th Cup last year.
Such studies can be an exercise in creativity, put together by consultants hired to find the right data to support their client’s desired outcome. You wouldn’t say they were fairy stories but you sure wouldn’t be surprised to find Hans Christian Andersen’s name on some of them.
That said, the university has done a pretty good job of being more specific than most such studies – detecting 1.8 million visits across all event sites on and off the water during the 2024 regatta, 460,000 unique visitors (those there solely because of the Cup) as well as a fleet of 244 superyachts whose inhabitants contributed $65.4m to the local economy.
They say 954 million people watched the action – topping the global audience of 941m that made the Auckland 2021 regatta the previous most watched America’s Cup.
You’d have to ask that, if Barcelona did so well out of the 2024 America’s Cup, why not hold it again and trouser another $2b?
Two main reasons: a change in city government since the deal was inked and the Barcelona protest which went round the world last year, with residents decrying the Cup’s presence as just another example of over-tourism which, among other issues, was pricing locals out of their own housing market.
Auckland, like Barcelona, has the requisite infrastructure already in place, done in anticipation of the 2024 Cup instead held overseas.
It’s a no-brainer; all that’s needed is the money. Those who doubt Auckland’s capacity to host 244 superyachts have a point but last time there were berths for 70 superyachts and plans for mooring areas and shuttle services in the harbour – drawing about 140 expressions of interest.
If sailing circles are to be believed, the private investment is there or thereabouts – it’s the public purse partners who could be the problem in this tripartite funding scheme.
The council’s involvement may be contingent on Mayor Wayne Brown’s bed tax proposal – not yet approved by Parliament. The Government has had a slow start, with little or no direct contact with Team New Zealand.
There is still time, if they can shake off the shackles of bureaucracy, to help host a huge event with a unifying and national pride effect.
They face competition from Europe – Valencia, Italy and Greece have been mentioned, though reports of Rio de Janeiro appear inaccurate. The Government will have to move fast and not through civil service intermediaries like the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), whose involvement caused such a rift between team and Government last time, playing a major role in the event shifting overseas.
Team New Zealand were reportedly impressed by the number and enthusiasm of Kiwi supporters in Barcelona last year, another consideration in bringing the Cup “home”. So maybe the 38th America’s Cup will be held in Auckland – but perhaps don’t bet the mortgage on it.
