The America’s Cup is further and further away from New Zealand

The increased costs of the America’s Cup may have exceeded what New Zealand is willing to pay, leaving Team New Zealand at a fork in the road. So the defender is going outside.
Only twice since 1851 have the rights to host the Cup have been moved away from the country it defended, the first time out of necessity when the Swiss won under Alinghi in 2003 with no city in the Swiss country meeting the terms of the deed of gift, and thus Valencia was chosen. The second time was when the United States moved its second defense in 2017 from San Francisco to Bermuda, for economic reasons.

Although historically underfunded, the Kiwis have won with less, but even those may not now be able to fund the next challenge. Having previously announced that the venue will be revealed by September and the 37th version protocol to be published by November, time is running out.
No final decision has been made on where the next America’s Cup will be held, but it is unlikely to be held in New Zealand. On June 15, Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton told more than 400 members of the Royal New Zealand Yachting Squadron that it was highly unlikely that an agreement would be reached with the government to organize the next event in Kiwi waters, after it had been more than three months. Of the negotiations failed. The difference was too big as the government was offering $100 million and the team was asking for $200 million.

Team New Zealand have hinted that there will be hope that some America’s Cup will be held in Auckland even if they have to race abroad for financial reasons. Dalton said the Auckland World Cup Americas Cup race was on their wish list and that most of the team’s preparations for the next defense will take place in Auckland, where they have their own facilities and base for building .boats.

The Irish city of Cork is said to be looking into the rights to host the America’s Cup for the 2024 event, with Auckland looking out. The Irish Examiner reports that Cork is preparing to showcase the event, while the Isle of Wight, China, Saudi Arabia, Valencia and Dubai have also been flagged as possible locations. According to Examiner, a technical team from the America’s Cup Regulatory Authority visited Cork to assess the site.

Emirates Airlines has announced its biggest loss in history due to COVID-19. After incurring a loss of NZ$7.7 billion in the last financial year, New Zealand’s Emirates team Grant Dalton said it was aware of rumors that the airline would not renew its naming rights deal with the America’s Cup team.

For all these reasons it is very difficult for the next America’s Cup to be held in New Zealand and it is easier to accept a different option as there is no possibility of reaching an agreement with the local government, after the recent tensions. interval.