Team NZ coy on Cup start

By JULIE ASH

Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton is keeping quiet on whether the syndicate will be on the start line in the Spanish city of Valencia in 2007.

But on the day the venue for the first European America's Cup regatta was unveiled, Dalton revealed the syndicate was close to signing sponsorship deals to give it nearly $100 million of the estimated $150 million needed to mount a challenge.

However, he said, that was not enough to confirm a 2007 start. A decision would be made on March 31, although there was an 80 per cent chance the syndicate would compete. "To go ahead I would want to know I had committed 65-70 per cent of the money and be able to see where the rest was coming from."

Dalton said Valencia's successful bid came as no surprise to Team New Zealand, who had been working on Valencia or Marseille being the venue for some months. "To see the announcement on TV it was like the announcing of the Olympic venue and that was kind of cool for our sport of yachting."

In terms of the cost of competing there was little difference between the final candidates - Valencia, Marseille, Lisbon and Naples.

It is understood team bases and a cup village will be built in the interior basin of the Port of Valencia, a few kilometres from the city centre.

"We will be active there in terms of weather," said Dalton when asked about the team shifting to Spain. "We will sail there as much as we think we need to but I would not read into that fact that we are going to go and live there.

"No team that has spent too much time at the venue, in other words peaked too early, has won the America's Cup. An example is Team New Zealand in 1995. They had just six months in San Diego, peaked at the right time and won the cup."

Sixty candidates expressed an interest in hosting the event following Alinghi's win over Team New Zealand in March.

America's Cup management chief executive Michel Bonnefous said finding a venue with consistent weather to ensure racing went ahead on time was a priority.

"The wind conditions in Valencia are very, very good for what we want to do," he said. "The wind is very reliable, very steady."

Also working in Valencia's favour was the fact the bay deepens close to the shore, which means races can be held within viewing distance of the city's beaches and waterfront.