Moneyball Kiwi-style

Mud, festival-style netball, golf and sailing have been deemed worthy of government funding. Ben Strang looks at whether Joseph Parker should join them.

Dean Lonergan and Duco Events want a ‘‘significant seven-figure’’ sum from Major Events New Zealand in order to host Joseph Parker’s planned world title fight.

They have major sponsorship in place, pumping funds into the potential fight on December 10, but more is needed.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said the boxing bout is borderline for government funding, but the application is being processed. According to the Major Events website, event organisers seeking investment are required to show the event will significantly impact on several areas.

They include tourism revenue, building New Zealand’s brand, increasing business and trade opportunities, increased participation in sport, increased employment opportunities and national identity and pride. So what events have met that threshold in he past? And how much money did they receive? The Major Events Development Fund allocated $600,000 to Netball New Zealand between 2012 and 2014 for the Fast5 Netball World Series.

Funding was granted to ‘‘enable the event to organise, host and grow Fast5 and by extension, showcase New Zealand to an international audience’’.

The tournament included the world’s top six netball nations. This year the tournament is being played in Melbourne, on Saturday and Sunday. In 2014, it was announced that the BMW NZ Golf Open in Queenstown would benefit from $700,000 of government funding in 2015 and 2016, plus a one-off investment of $500,000 for television production and distribution.

‘‘The New Zealand Golf Open is a homegrown event which provides excellent opportunities to promote New Zealand as a premier destination,’’ Joyce said at the time. ‘‘The event has already delivered measurable net economic benefits by attracting elite athletes and visitors from around the world, as well as allowing active business leverage programmes to be created.’’

There is no doubting the beauty of the surroundings in Queenstown, with footage of the area heading to Australia, China, Japan and North America.

The quality of golfers attracted to New Zealand has never been high, however. The Youth Sailing World Championships are being held in Auckland in December, with the government investing up to $500,000 in the event.

About 70 nations are expected to attend the event.

‘‘The event presents a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand and continue our record of hosting international sailing regattas,’’ the Major Events website states. The Rotorua Lakes Council plans to host its first mud festival in December, 2017, replicating the Boryeong Mud Festival in South Korea.

Manager of Major Events, Devorah Blumberg, said the South Korean festival ‘‘has attracted a large following of millions’’.

The event is expected to attract a significant number of domestic and international visitors, providing a strong economic boost for Rotorua and New Zealand, Blumberg said.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said ‘‘it’s quite delicious, the idea of a mud festival. In Rotorua, culture, dirt and steam is what we are about and mud fits our proposition’’. While not necessarily Major Event funding, in 2011, Grant Dalton and Team New Zealand were given a whopping $36 million by the government to help them contest the 2013 America’s Cup.

‘‘The funding has the potential to generate significant economic benefits for New Zealand, in particular for our world-class marine industry,’’ then acting Economic Development Minister David Carter said.

Team New Zealand chief Dalton said the funding would help return to the America’s Cup to New Zealand.