SailGP confident of Auckland return in 2026 despite city not featuring in first venue announcement

SailGP made its debut in Auckland in January this year. Photo / SailGP

SailGP remains confident of a return to New Zealand in 2026, despite the City of Sails not appearing in the league’s season six venue announcement this morning.

The global foiling league confirmed the first 10 venues for next season, which will start with a new event in Perth in January and conclude in Abu Dhabi in November.

They did, however, note there would be more to come, with Auckland expected to be among them.

“Discussions with Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and New Zealand Major Events continue and we’re confident about hosting future events in Auckland,” a SailGP spokesperson told the Herald.

“January’s event in Auckland has been one of the highlights of the 2025 season so far and delivered positive results for the city and New Zealand, including significant economic impact and global broadcast reach.”

The omission of Auckland comes weeks after Team New Zealand announced the city would not host the next America’s Cup. At least one sailing event has been confirmed with The Ocean Race to return to Auckland in 2027.

While the official economic impact report for the Auckland event is yet to be released, SailGP chief executive Sir Russell Coutts told the Herald in March it revealed a US$36 million ($63m) return.

Coutts was hopeful of locking in a six-year deal to return to Auckland - whether that would be a straight six-year commitment or a four-year commitment with options for another two were points of discussion.

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill told the Herald they had been working towards a mid-April deadline with SailGP, which suggested the city was unlikely to feature in the first venue announcement, given indications were that it would be unveiled around the same timeframe.

The first announcement saw Australia secure two events, with the stop in Perth before a return to Sydney, while Bermuda and Halifax (Canada) are back as host venues after neither secured an event as part of season five.

While there has been no indication as to how many events the league is looking to have on the calendar in season six, season five initially featured 14 stops, culminating in the grand final in Abu Dhabi in November. However, that number was reduced to 13 as the league couldn’t make a proposed second November event in the Middle East prior to the Abu Dhabi final work.

The league was also forced to cancel their scheduled debut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next month in order to address safety concerns with their some of the wingsails across the fleet. SailGP said they would be considering potential options to reschedule that event.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.