Paul Lewis: The deciding factors on 'changing' America's Cup returning to NZ

OPINION:

Now that the handwringing and backbiting over the loss of the 37th America's Cup regatta to Barcelona has faded just a little, the next big question is: Even if Team New Zealand win in Spain, will the Cup ever return to Auckland?

It's impossible even to guess at that at this stage but one thing is certain: the America's Cup game has changed – a lot. This is no longer just a collection of yachts owned by enormously wealthy people; it's a full-blown, travelling commercial circus fuelled by technology and brand power, the closest comparison being motorsport's Formula 1.

There has been a predictable – and understandable – outcry about "the America's Cup no longer being New Zealand's Cup"; a feeling of betrayal after all the support and taxpayer money put into Team NZ.

However, most of that finger-pointing goes back only to Team NZ's "rejection" of the $99m Government offer to stage the cup here. Less than a third of that was in cash, with the team adamant throughout that $200m was needed to sustain the team and host the event, $80m of which the team would find. Others remember only that Team NZ was hawking the event around overseas even before the 36th America's Cup had finished.

Skipper Peter Burling holds up the Auld Mug as champagne is sprayed and Emirates Team New Zealand celebrate on stage. Photosport

To really understand the dynamics of this new future for a vastly changed event, we have to look further back than that – to the two whistleblowing contractors of 2020 and the botched Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) oversight of the application of taxpayer money.

Without relitigating that whole messy business (Team NZ were cleared, the "whistleblowers" quietly sailed off into the ether), there were faults on both sides. Team NZ's accounting procedures may not have been pristine but, talking about betrayal, the team felt aggrieved that MBIE ambushed them, seemingly believing the allegations.

Taxpayer money or not, there must be oversight but not micro-managing, bureaucratic control. In any arrangement of this ilk, trust and flexibility are vital. It was then the team began to feel that the new horizons they wanted to explore may not be reached by tethering themselves to a Government-funded bollard.

Notably, neither Barcelona nor Malaga have central monies backing them up, although it remains to be seen how the three arms of Barcelona's local government (regional, provincial and city council, some distinctly left-leaning) want to track what happens to their euros. Sponsorship will play a big role in Barcelona.

Many Kiwis are blaming the man they love to hate, Grant Dalton. Certainly his chances of a knighthood seem minimal - but the man who conducts the orchestra often has to turn his back on the crowd.

Emirates Team New Zealand against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli during race nine of the America's Cup. Photosport

In the $200m budget the biggest item, always, is salaries. The America's Cup has always been a design competition – but never more so than now. It is not overstating things to say that Team NZ's impressive stable of designers overshadow even the sailors these days, though Team NZ have assembled a crack team there too.

Their vision saw what most of us regarded as a fantasy – a foiling monohull – and turned it into a reality fascinating to watch; the team's success with foiling yachts has played a large role in foiling becoming a bigger part of sailing and leisure globally.

Now there is a possible evolution of that vision into a regatta which, like F1, travels the world. Incidentally, Alinghi, Ineos Team UK and maybe Luna Rossa are already incorporating F1 technology and know-how into their designs this time round.

Europe is a prime target. With Barcelona selected, there is already talk of more teams, this time from Italy and France, partly prompted by the savings of a nearby venue.

Let's also not forget that Valencia 2007 was the only America's Cup to make a profit. Alinghi ran that show – 30 million euros, 50 per cent of which went to Alinghi with the other 50 per cent divvied up between the competing teams, including Team NZ. The profit sharing was designed to ensure teams had a good start to fundraising for the next regatta.

Dalton has talked about making enough money to return the regatta to Auckland – and this new basis for the Cup could possibly even sustain itself long after Dalton has retired (unless someone else wins the Cup, knocks it all down and starts all over again).

In sport, as in life, if you stop in one place long enough, someone else will occupy the ground you wanted for yourself. Innovation is required in all top contests. If not, the America's Cup could fade away if all the billionaires get bored – like the One Ton Cup, the regatta which put New Zealand sailing on the map internationally but which now has only faded glory.

So will the America's Cup be back to Auckland in 2028 or beyond? Two things may apply by then – there may be more acceptance of the new shape and form of the America's Cup and there may be money available to host it.