America’s Cup: hidden gems for NZ in Barcelona
Analysis The Auld Mug may have sailed away but not all is lost for the brave and bold – even Auckland could get a late reprieve with a major build-up regatta, writes Duncan Johnstone.
As the dust settles on Team New Zealand’s controversial decision to take the next America’s Cup to Barcelona, there are a few hidden gems worth considering on the move to go offshore.
There’s been a predictable outcry over the lost opportunity for Auckland and New Zealand to host consecutive Cup regattas after the exciting defence in 2021, albeit financially stymied by the restrictions of the global Covid pandemic.
Auckland was still the envy of the sporting world as local crowds were able to gather to witness the wizardry of the AC75 foiling monohulls.
In a world slowly but surely freeing up, Barcelona should be able to make a far better return on its investment as one of Europe’s hot-spots showcases yachting’s greatest spectacle.
But the $128 million deal Team New Zealand managed to squeeze out of their new Spanish hosts will have major flow-on effects to the Kiwi economy.
The champion syndicate will still spend the vast majority of its buildup in New Zealand and estimate that 90% of its budget will be spent in New Zealand.
That’s millions and millions of foreign money coming into the country by the way of investment, expenditure, wages and taxes.
Add it to the knock-on effects the Cup always has to New Zealand’s marine industry and it’s a goldmine for the bean counters in Wellington to dig into.
If Auckland and New Zealand really are so upset about seeing the Auld Mug sail away, there is still a budget way of getting involved in some of the sporting action.
Significant build-up events in the shape of World Series regattas are still to be allocated.
There are likely to be three of these outside of Barcelona and a desire to see these raced in Jeddah, Malaga and Auckland if the financials stack up.
Yes, it’s a curtainraiser rather than the main event, but these regattas won’t be the wham-bam weekend affairs of years gone by.
There is a willingness to considerably stretch these out to ensure there is enough good sailing conditions to justify them and to showcase the three tiers that now make up the latest Cup edition.
It won’t just be the actual America’s Cup syndicates on show, but also their women’s and youth teams as the World Series regattas showcase the new 40-foot foiling monohulls, the first of which has just come out of the mould.
The women’s initiative and the return of the youth championship which Covid restrictions cancelled in Auckland, are both worthy and significant.
Bustling Barcelona, so keen to jump on the diversity movement, saw these two support acts as important as the standard challenger series and the America’s Cup match itself, along with Team NZ’s commitment to a greener scene by way of the hydrogen-powered foiling chase boats that are now written into the rules as nonnegotiable for competing teams.
Let’s hope a peace deal can be brokered for TNZ and Auckland to host a World Series event.
It’s the other end of the world
for the European and American teams involved, but the convenience of the AC40s to be packed up and containered south makes it workable.
It would be further proof of the international power of the America’s Cup.
That will only heighten as Barcelona draws near and already, in the wake of that decision, powerful players are believed to be coming to the party in terms of sponsorship and marketing. The European stage, with its convenient time
zones and massive live and broadcast audiences, offers them benefits that New Zealand simply can’t match.
But a clever Kiwi approach can still see the country capitalise. Barcelona could be a shop window for New Zealand ingenuity and products on a scale that would dwarf the significant financial and trade benefits that flowed from Valencia 2007 and San Francisco 2013. The America’s Cup is gone — but not all is lost for the brave and bold.