An America's Cup syndicate could be based at Marsden Pt when the race for the Auld Mug takes place in Auckland in 2021, with Northport dusting off plans it had in 2012 to host then cup holder Oracle.
The next America's Cup regatta is likely to be in Auckland in 2021, with planning already under way as the cup returned to New Zealand yesterday with the successful Team NZ members - including Northlanders Blair Tuke and Andy Maloney - for a parade through Auckland today.
In 2010 Oracle, which lost the cup to Team NZ in Bermuda last month, approached Northport asking to base itself there ahead of its 2013 cup defence in San Francisco.
Oracle, owned by US billionaire Larry Ellison, wanted to base itself at Northport so its two America's Cup AC72 wingsail catamarans could go head-to-head in some spectacular matchracing, just off the Ruakaka coast.
The plan was eventually abandoned with Oracle choosing instead to base itself in San Francisco, but a lot of work went into the approach, which was seen as a potential financial boon. A least 50 houses suitable to accommodate the influx of crew, support team and their families would have been needed for an extended period.