America’s Cup: Why Valencia makes sense as host of 38th America’s Cup – Paul Lewis

THREE KEY FACTS

• Emirates Team New Zealand were surprised by the turnout and enthusiasm of Kiwi supporters in Barcelona.
• Valencia is a strong contender to host the 38th America’s Cup in 2027, potentially saving costs.
• Barcelona faces challenges from new city government and protests against tourism, affecting its hosting prospects.

Paul Lewis is a veteran sports journalist who has written four books and covered Rugby World Cups, America’s Cups, Olympic and Commonwealth Games and more.

OPINION

If you’re the betting kind, maybe place a few bucks on the 38th America’s Cup being sailed in Valencia in 2027 – but hedge your bets a little and place a long-shot wager on Auckland.

Logic says Auckland has about as much chance as a tissue paper mainsail but Emirates Team New Zealand were apparently surprised by the turnout of Kiwi supporters in Barcelona and their enthusiasm. The crowd of Kiwis was such at the end, one witness said, that it felt like the type of crush normally experienced in European football stadiums.

However, that’s sentiment. The America’s Cup is where money talks loudest, especially to Team NZ, who hail from a country not awash in billionaires wanting to “invest” in a highly expensive boat race and where public tax money is jealously guarded, especially in tougher economic times. Like now.

It cost Barcelona about $120 million to host the 37th Cup – about $80m of that public money from the national, regional and city governments, $40m from “private interests” while a further $80m was reaped from international sponsors. There’s the thing – Team NZ are kept afloat by a hosting fee and a large team of sponsors for whom international audiences are key.

Contrast that with the previous New Zealand Government’s $99m offer, which included money for the 2024 event and assets in kind – but no money for the team itself. There are also the still-fresh wounds from the 2021 Cup, when some clowns from the Ministry of Business, Industry and Enterprise (MBIE) begin an investigation into Team NZ’s use of public money without informing the team.

This column revealed back then that MBIE planned to put their own people in charge of the America’s Cup event in Auckland. Imagine! It would have been like Auckland Transport taking over Rocket Labs. Team NZ were not completely without blame, but this is a fence that needs plenty of mending yet. Still, we cannot underestimate the emotional pull of a home event, even if it is a long shot.

Far more likely is that the 38th Cup will be held in Spain, but maybe not in Barcelona. Valencia hosted the 2007 Cup and wanted to host this year’s too – but couldn’t put the money together fast enough. Now, apparently, it has and there is plenty of talk of Barcelona’s interest waning.

Two main reasons – a new city government since the hosting rights were awarded in 2021 and increasing pressure on Barcelona and other Spanish cities to control over-tourism and its effects on, among other things, house prices locking out locals in their own market.

Barcelona could reasonably aim to target higher-yield tourists with the next Cup. That’s the holy grail of tourism; Valencia’s media has reported that their city felt they did very well out of 1300 Cup-linked families shifting to Valencia for three years, all of whom had bulky wage packets, plus the influx of boatbuilding and other sailing-related trades and, later, superyacht owners and friends.

However, the Barcelona protests against tourism and the America’s Cup went round the world; not a good look. I mean, who wants to go to a place with too many tourists, right? Better to save $80m of public money and let the tourism gravy train quietly return to normal.

Emirates Team New Zealand arrive back into port in Barcelona after winning the America’s Cup. Photo / Ian Romain, America's Cup

There is a third reason. Barcelona trumpeted it was expecting a $2 billion windfall as a result of hosting the Cup – a statement that gave many of us a laugh. It maybe hasn’t quite added up to that much but, in the way of politicians everywhere, we will likely never know.

Valencia is also apparently upholding the promise to give Cup sponsors tax-free protection, a big consideration Barcelona provided for this Cup and which resonated with sponsors.

There are other possible venues – Jeddah and Saudi Arabia have been consistently mentioned but the social and political climate surrounding ongoing human rights issues there is not good. However, a Fifa decision about the hosting of football’s World Cup there is expected soon and could take the heat out of an America’s Cup hosting. Or not. The Americans, for example, may not be convinced of their safety.

There are probably only two more likely challengers – the Swedish syndicate Artemis, funded by energy company billionaire Thorbjorn Tornqvist (and which competed in the 2013 and 2017 America’s Cups), and Spain, especially if Spain hosts again, meaning a big saving in costs.

As for the dates, Team NZ boss Grant Dalton has talked of the next event in 2026, which would keep interest (and sponsors) humming along. However, 2027 may be more realistic, especially if there are new challengers and changes to the structure of the AC75s; it takes a long time to develop these massive foiling monohulls and to learn to sail them.

There is already talk of changing out all or some of the cyclors to accommodate more sailors, as the sight of people largely hidden away below decks pumping hydraulic oil tends to raise the question: “Is this a yacht race or a bike race?” It may be that all or some of the cyclors are replaced, leading to more sailing spots on board and leading some to raise the possibility of a woman or women on board – even though Dalton has publicly said there would be no quota of females.

So that could be the next big America’s Cup issue ... transgender sailors, anyone?