SailGP will return to Lyttelton Harbour in March 2024. Photo: Bob Martin / SailGP
SailGP will return to Lyttelton Harbour in March 2024. Photo: Bob Martin / SailGP
Sir Russell Coutts admits SailGP had no contingency plans in place despite knowing the land they wanted at Wynyard Point was not guaranteed to be available to them for the proposed regatta in March.
SailGP was forced to pull the pin on an Auckland event late last month after learning the land would not be available as a spectator site. The land used to house petrol tanks and while the soil is in the process of remediation, it is currently not cleared for public use.
SailGP put on their events to fit a specific vision in which fans are put as close to the action as possible and without the land at Wynyard Point, league chief executive Coutts didn’t feel they could put on an event in Auckland that would do their product justice.
It left the league scrambling to find an alternative or risk cancelling the event altogether; ultimately reaching an agreement to return to Christchurch for the March 23-24 regatta.
That return to Lyttelton Harbour comes a year earlier than planned, following a successful debut event in early 2023.
“We incorrectly thought that we would be able to put temporary structures on [Wynyard Point] or find a way to get approval to put the temporary structures on there, but that turned out to be problematic. So, that’s what happened there. Probably the wrong assumptions, frankly,” Coutts told the Herald.
“We worked hard, tried every avenue we thought we could, but at the end of the day, we had to make the call and if we hadn’t made the call, then I don’t think Christchurch would have happened either. So, the good news is that we were able to have a New Zealand event now.”
Sir Russell Coutts is SailGP's chief executive officer. Photo: Adam Warner / SailGP
SailGP were offered the America’s Cup sites as an alternative, but while that would have been suitable for the team bases and tech site, it didn’t provide a suitable option for a grandstand that was close enough to the water.
With Auckland cancelled just four months out from the event, Coutts said Christchurch was the only option the league considered in terms of relocating the regatta.
“It had to be Christchurch given the timeframe we were under,” Coutts said.
“At least we’d run an event there. We knew what changes we would make from the lessons learnt at this year’s event. We had a good head start there.
“It would not have been an option to explore another event, it just would have taken too long. Christchurch really was the only viable option given the timeframe.”
While SailGP’s initial four-year commitment to bring a regatta to New Zealand was set to see Christchurch and Auckland hosting events in alternate years, there is no plan to change that structure despite Christchurch hosting again in 2024.
That means the Garden City will host 2025 as well, with the hopes of debuting in Auckland in 2026.
However, Coutts indicated the league could look to bring more than one regatta to New Zealand in a season if the appetite was big enough.
“We’ll look at other options for Auckland in the future,” he said.
“I’m just being candid, but I think in the future we’ll more than likely be seeing if there’s an appetite in New Zealand to have two events not just one.
“We’ll be looking at alternative plans there going forward and see if we can’t come to a solution. It’d be good to have an event in Auckland, for sure.”
