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The Government is committing $10 million to hold on to vital America's Cup team members as the viability of launching another challenge for the Auld Mug is explored.
Sport and Recreation Minister Trevor Mallard announced the interim funding shortly after a nail-biting finish to race seven overnight, which Team New Zealand lost by 1 second, ending their challenge for the 32nd America's Cup 5-2.
"It is the view of the government that the team should continue, that it should be based in New Zealand and that Auckland should host an America's Cup regatta again," Mr Mallard said from Valencia.
"Therefore Cabinet has agreed that in the interim, $10 million should be made available to contract vital team members while negotiations occur around details of commercial sponsorship."
The lifeline is more generous than the $5.6 million the Government gave Team New Zealand soon after its disastrous 2003 defence to retain key members.
Major sponsors Emirates, Toyota, and Lion Nathan were all happy with the New Zealand effort and the exposure they received but none have made any firm commitments about doing it all again.
"Our feeling on this is very much the same, win or lose: we feel very positive about it," Emirates group services president Gary Chapman, told the Dominion Post.
Toyota marketing manager Mark Young said the company's sponsorship had gone "fantastically well" and was likely to continue but it was too early to make any guarantees.
Lion Nathan corporate affairs director Liz Read said the company would look closely at supporting the team again.
Mr Mallard last night congratulated Alinghi on its successful defence, while also paying tribute to Team New Zealand's performance.
"This America's Cup regatta will go down as one of the most closely fought contests in a quarter of a century. We have seen some fantastic racing with two very evenly matched boats and two highly skilled teams.
"Congratulations to Alinghi... While they only had a slight edge, they hammered it home in a truly professional manner."
Mr Mallard said he was immensely proud of the Kiwi team which "showed great character, strength and determination" throughout the Louis Vuitton regatta and America's Cup finals.
"While it is disappointing that Team New Zealand will not be bringing the Cup home, all New Zealanders can be incredibly proud of what our team has achieved at this regatta."
Mr Mallard said the government's tourism and trade investment in Team New Zealand had certainly paid off in Valencia with numerous events staged, all aimed at promoting New Zealand technology, products and services to high value offshore business contacts and international audiences.
These involved 55 New Zealand companies hosting close to 600 individuals from 160 targeted companies.
"Team New Zealand has encapsulated exactly what we want to tell the world about our country -- our tenacity, our can-do attitude, our fantastic teamwork, our skills in innovation, in high tech and high value areas of manufacturing."
"Those people whom we hosted in Valencia as guests of New Zealand companies and who saw Team New Zealand in action through the leveraging programme will never forget the experience, and I'm sure our exporters will have made and developed long-term friends and business connections as a result."
Mr Mallard said Team New Zealand had repaid taxpayer funding of $34 million, contributed as part of a total budget of $130 million.
The team had paid more than $22 million in PAYE by May this year. That, combined with the tax paid by contractors, meant that the taxpayers cash investment had been repaid in full, he said.
Mr Mallard said losing the America's Cup was "a real bugger".
It was "absolutely gutting" to be so near but yet so far, he said on Radio New Zealand.
"In the end it doesn't matter for the result if it's a second or a minute or five minutes. It was a loss and it's a real bugger."
He believed the Government had got a return on the $34m it put into the challenge.
There had been "tremendous publicity" for New Zealand, and the team had already paid $22m in tax with more to come, contractors had been paying tax "so the net cost was actually very, very little".
People needed to remember that if the Government had not been there the first time there would not have been a Team New Zealand, and New Zealand would not have had the profile it had in Europe over the past weeks, he said.
The $10m the Government was advancing was necessary to secure key people from the team.
"Clearly the team won't be able to outbid on everybody but the team had to have certainty of funding in order to go forward at all."
Mr Mallard said the heads of Alinghi and Oracle had large chequebooks open: "Their companies could well have a bigger turnover than our country does...we've got to be prepared."
- NZPA
- NZPA
