With a little over six months before the America’s Cup in Barcelona, Emirates Team New Zealand’s decision to hold the 37th staging of the cup overseas now seems well and truly justified. Even more, this version of the cup seems – so far – remarkably conflict-free for an event renowned for backbiting, controversy and legal action.
It seems aeons ago (but was only 2021 and 2022) that trouble flared when it became clear Team NZ were looking overseas, sparking indignation locally and the formation of Kiwi Home Defence (KHD) – the ginger group headed by local businessman Mark Dunphy pressing the team to defend at home. It was a strange time, full of PR bluster and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring; Dunphy insisted the defence could be bankrolled here (though the money and the sponsors never materialised), with team boss Grant Dalton even more vehemently maintaining it couldn’t.
Matters came to a head when Dunphy said publicly that the $80 million needed to stage the event here would only be forthcoming if Dalton wasn’t in control of the purse strings – a statement he later withdrew. Dalton won a showdown at the OK Corral, aka the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron, by demonstrating KHD were $50m short – and that taking on the likes of Ineos Team UK and Alinghi with a $50m deficit would be the same as just handing over the cup.
Nearly two years on, all that must seem a bad dream to ETNZ. Their preparations for the cup seem to be going swimmingly for two linked reasons: sponsorship deals and a new Challenger of Record (CoR).
With the loss of New Zealand government support and money extremely hard to find after Covid, the lockdowns and the downturn, ETNZ decided on an overseas venue, reorganising their sponsorship packages. It’s been, by any measure, a resounding success.