Will America’s Cup stay or go?

It seems to be a general rule that most New Zealanders feign a lack of interest in the America’s Cup, dismissing it as a rich man’s sport or corporate branding exercise, until the final days, when we all turn into flag-waving yachting commentators overnight.

Yet for all the jubilation we saw in Auckland on Wednesday, when Emirates Team New Zealand successfully fought off challenger Luna Rossa, there is still a tension at the heart of the America’s Cup story for us. It is a tension between sport and business, between the national and the international, exacerbated by a belief among some that such an elite sport should not be propped up by local and central government.

Supporters can point to benefits, such as the boost to the boat-building industry and associated technology, the revival of Auckland’s waterfront in the 1990s, and tourism appeal. For viewers under socially distanced lockdown, scenes of revellers at the harbour and on the water looked like paradise.

Within minutes of the victory, the Government announced that $5 million was likely to be given to Team New Zealand to keep it intact for the defence in 2023. It would come from $136.5m allocated to the cup in the 2018 Budget. But that $5m has strings attached. There would be ‘‘an expectation’’ that the cup will be defended in New Zealand in 2023.

Most New Zealanders would see this as a nobrainer and would be amazed, to put it mildly, if Team New Zealand upped sticks and defended the cup elsewhere.

Yet it was reported in February that Team New Zealand was seeking overseas bids for the 2023 event. These offshore bids would be considered alongside the team’s negotiations with the New Zealand Government.

The approach took many by surprise as it ran counter to a belief that winning the cup in Auckland would automatically lead to a repeat event in the same city. But even Auckland Mayor Phil Goff concedes his city could be outspent: ‘‘I’m not about to enter into a bidding war with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the Isle of Man or whoever,’’ Goff said on Wednesday.

Goff probably meant the Isle of Wight, as there has been growing speculation that an offer from Ineos Team UK will involve a contest there in 2022. Auckland hopes to appeal to the sentimental advantage of a loyal hometown crowd, along with infrastructure that is already in place. As Goff said, ‘‘we’ve made a big investment in them’’.

America’s Cup minister Stuart Nash spoke with a sense of realism that bordered on fatalism: ‘‘It would be disappointing to see it head offshore but the economic reality may mean in this Covid time that the Government hasn’t got the money to stump up and hold it.’’

Will New Zealanders feel betrayed if an allegedly national team relocates to a different port after getting a better offer? Or will they accept it as the brutal reality of a specialised global sport that relies on corporate sponsorship and international viewers? Could an offshore event still act as an advertisement for New Zealand skill and technology?

Team New Zealand’s tender document reportedly pitched a future America’s Cup that is more akin to the Olympics or the football World Cup, which are not anchored to fixed locations but tour the globe as mega-events. That seems ambitious, and it remains to be seen if Team New Zealand will risk burning off decades of local goodwill to pursue it.

These offshore bids would be considered alongside the team’s negotiations with the Government.