Roger "Clouds" Badham, Team New Zealand's long-serving meteorologist, has poured scorn on the money spent on the America's Cup regatta, calling it "obscene".
There was an uproar recently when Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton cried poor, saying the team would have to close their doors unless they received an immediate cash injection from the Government. The 'crisis' was avoided when the syndicate received money from private equity partners.
Badham could be seen as sympathetic to those who believe the costs do not justify the event.
"The America's Cup involves a staggering waste of money that would be much better spent on world health or world peace or something," he told Afloat.com.au.
"Oracle last time supposedly spent about US$300 million. I call that obscene. It's totally obscene. And what benefit is there in winning? It beats me. The only benefit to Team New Zealand lies in the financial impact on a venue city like Auckland."
