The issue of where the regatta will be staged in 2017 has always been a key concern for Team NZ. They wanted confirmation of the venue before being forced to pay US$2 million ($2.5 million) in entry fees, pointing out the rather obvious snag that it was impossible to lock in sponsorship agreements without knowing where the actual event would be.
The Kiwi team also refused to sign a joint statement with the other four challengers declaring they were willing to support the event regardless of the venue selected - a move that saw Team NZ excluded from a competitors' meeting in London and derided as childish and unco-operative by Cup bosses.
Team NZ boss Grant Dalton explained at the time they could not sign their name to the statement as the feedback they had had from their sponsors and the Government was Bermuda could be a "deal-breaker".
America's Cup funding 'poor value' for taxpayer
Whether those fears will be realised or not will be more clear after tomorrow's announcement, but, judging by the noises coming from Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce, the waters off Bermuda could yet claim another casualty - Team NZ's campaign.
Bound by ironclad non-disclosure agreements, Team NZ, along with the rest of the challengers, are unable to discuss their thoughts on the pending announcement.
But elsewhere the merits of Bermuda are being hotly debated by former Cup professionals and followers. The most perplexing thing about the selection is if organisers genuinely want to make the event more user-friendly for commercially-funded teams, why are they taking the event to a tiny island and denying those reliant on commercial backing the opportunity to tap into the American market?
The small, exclusive island is said to have just 17 hotels and 2000 beds.
Even supporters of Cup defenders Oracle Team USA are dismayed by the Bermuda rumours. The idea of Oracle taking the event to a British overseas territory does not sit well with traditionalists. It will be the first time an America's Cup is staged outside of the defenders' home country for reasons other than necessity, after Alinghi, based in landlocked Switzerland, staged the 2007 and 2010 regattas in Valencia.
It seems especially odd the organisers are taking the event offshore, having fought so hard to get the America's Cup back to the US.
America's Cup organisers raved about the success of the 2013 event San Francisco.
Holding the racing in the natural amphitheatre of San Francisco Bay where the action was visible from various vantage points on the shore ensured the general public became connected to the event in a way they never had been before. If this is true, why has the America's Cup ended up so far away from these fans that became hooked after the last event?
For a sporting event that has designs on extending its reach to the mainstream market, Bermuda seems a wholly unsuitable venue. But apparently the wreck-diving is amazing.
