Black Foils driver Peter Burling looks ahead as SailGP prepares to hold its first event in Auckland in January. Video / Michael Craig
As SailGP prepares to make its debut in Auckland next weekend, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited is projecting a multimillion-dollar economic impact from hosting the regatta.
The global foiling league will be on show in the City of Sails after two editions were held on Lyttelton Harbour in 2023 and 2024.
The regatta was expected to result in 10,000 visitor nights for the city, with about 25,000 people anticipated to experience the action across the two-day event.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited head of major events Michelle Hooper said it was “forecasting $5.2 million GDP contribution and economic impact from the event”.
“I would say that’s conservative in terms of what the realised benefit will be,” Hooper said.
“The number of people that will turn up, the number of people that will come down to the waterfront, the kind of positive momentum that an event like this brings to the city is just second to none.
“I think we can expect to see some really great benefits, but the financial and economic benefit was clearly one of the reasons why we invested in the first place.”
Seating for the upcoming SailGP racing being built at the end of Hamer St on Auckland's waterfront. Photo / Alex Burton
When asked what the size of that investment was, Hooper said it wouldn’t discuss figures until after the event, but it was a significant investment not only in monetary terms but also the time and effort spent to ensure the best possible product is delivered.
That has included the port working with SailGP and making arrangements around the event, with concerned parties of the timetabling changes all said to have been happy to accommodate alterations where needed in order to support the event. The harbourmaster has also had to temporarily relocate about a dozen moorings in Big Shoal Bay to allow as much sea space as possible for racing.
The past two events in Christchurch delivered a significant economic impact to the city, with post-event reports by Deloitte indicating a total economic impact of $13.9m (2023) and $33.7m (2024) from the regattas.
Last year’s New Zealand stop was at the time the world’s largest ticketed sailing event, which was hosted in Christchurch after the desired land for the grandstand in Auckland was unavailable and the event was relocated.
There were no such issues for this year, with an 8000-seat grandstand erected on the waterfront. The regatta will be the first time SailGP has raced with its full season five fleet of 12 boats, after France sat out the season opener in Dubai due to a lack of available vessels.
The league will also be introducing its new high-speed T-foils for the regatta.
“A really big credit to SailGP and to Russell Coutts for their vision,” Hooper said.
“They really held out for this vision of the race stadium, which is an 8000-seater capacity stadium, purpose-built grandstand on the end of Wynyard Point right up under the Harbour Bridge.
“It’s going to be a really, really tight course, but really spectacular when you think of those boats flying in at 100km/h and towards the shore.
“It’s just going to be all of the things that Auckland is great at amplified and celebrated, so I think people, because we haven’t delivered it here in Auckland before, are in for something really unique and special.”
The event, which runs on Saturday and Sunday, also coincides with country music star Luke Combs' two-show bill at Eden Park (Friday and Saturday); something Hooper said was coincidental.
