Alexandra Corry: SailGP Head of Event for New Zealand on Auckland being confirmed as a venue for 2026

SailGP will be making waves in Auckland again in 2026.  

After being omitted from the first announcement of venues for next season, the league has confirmed it will return to the City of Sails on the weekend of February 14-15 next year.  

The event will be the second of 12 on the calendar and is the last on the global foiling league’s initial four-year agreement with New Zealand Major Events to host regattas in New Zealand.  

The league is now expected to go through a process to explore what is possible in terms of a long-term arrangement in Auckland.  

Alexandra Corry, SailGP Head of Event for New Zealand, joined Piney for a chat about the announcement.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Pine
from Newstalks EDB. When It's down to the line and
if you made a call on eight Weekend Sports with
Jason Pine, News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Eleven minutes past her Great News this week Sale GP
will return to Auckland on February fourteen and fifteen next year,
after a successful debut earlier this year. Here we go.
I'm gonna get to do it in front of the
Kiwi fans.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
And the Emirates fly time eighty two percent for Tom
Slingsby and the Flying Ruse. As they bring it home
and there's the finish line, the sold out crowd will
bring them home. They'd rather see black balls, but they're
gonna see green and gold as they come to the line.
The Emirates pooty moment goes the way of the Australians.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Apart from the fact that Australia wanted it was it
was a great weekend. So next year the Auckland event
will be the second of twelve on the twenty twenty
sixth calendar, secured on a one regatta deal. Alex Cory
is Head of Event for the New Zealand leg of
sale GP, she joins us. Now, Alex, great news this
we get to do it all again next February. How

(01:18):
excited are you to be having sal GP returned back
to Auckland.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
We're so excited to finally have this date lockdown, I
mean off the success of the event earlier this year,
where we're looking forward to building on that success and
really growing our fan experience and hopefully the fan base
and getting more spectators down onto that site to watch
the exciting racing.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
What sort of feedback did you get from, first of all,
the sale GP organization and the teams who visited Auckland
earlier this year.

Speaker 4 (01:52):
It was it was the best we had and in
the history of SELDP to be fair, the athletes loved it,
management loved it, the whole organization loved it. You know,
it's I think it's a real combon nation of great
sailinge Obviously we've got good wins out there on the
way to matter Harbor and the afternoon, a huge spectator

(02:15):
fan base and that huge grandstand, and also just been
done in the heart of the city. You know, you're
right in downtown au Glenn. That was fantastic to see
all those bars and restaurants along when you had caught
it there, you know, humming and thousands of people back
at it. It felt like of those olden days.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
It certainly that how do you balance your priorities, Alex,
in terms of giving sole GP what they need, giving
the teams what they need, but also creating that fan experience,
because let's be honest, Without the fans, the events nowhere
near as good as it is.

Speaker 4 (02:48):
It isn't no, I mean, it's I think it's the
product that we have is you know, exceptional. It's when
you talk to fans, the consistent feedback that I get.
It was so unexpected. So you know, just people come
down there that in the grandstand seat just meters off

(03:10):
the water. You know, it's like nothing anyone's ever experienced before.
And then you've got the fifties flying straight past, you know,
meters away when you can you can hear the athletes
talking to each other. So it's not too hard to balance.
It's it's I think the product speaks for itself, and
so you know, it's it's an easy job.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Are there any changes or improvements you're looking to make
for next year?

Speaker 4 (03:35):
Yeah? We you know, we're always looking at how we
can improve certainly, you know, improvement on the fan experience.
You know, we're hoping to you know, work with our
partners down on when your point and make that even better.
We're looking at how we can grow their race stadium
and the and the grandstand down there. Obviously we're limited

(03:56):
of waterfronted, but you know, we're hoping that we're working
with our design team and our operations teams to see
how we can grow that grand stand as well, so
that we can get more people down there. Also, you know,
we're looking at the last year, sorry this year, we
had twelve twelve national teams. We're looking to grow that

(04:17):
to fourteen, so you know, expect to see even more
excitement out on that water.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Why is this only a one year deal?

Speaker 4 (04:27):
As you know, well may know, we had a four
year agreement with the government, so that was to host
two events in christ sertain Peel in Auckland, So we're
seeing out that contract, but you know, absolutely looking at
how we can extend that for fifty years and we're
working with Tatafi Aukland Unlimited, so hopefully you know, we

(04:49):
will become a permanent fixture in the event calendar.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Well you're completely preemp to my next question. So you
it's your hope that this will become an annual event,
that there will be be more to see beyond next
year in terms of sole GP in Auckland.

Speaker 4 (05:05):
Absolutely, I mean we're looking as a league. We're looking
to sort of cement the calendar so that we've become
you know, like other major sporting events where you know
that you know, every February there will be a SLGP
in Auckland and that's that's our hope. So you know,
we're working with the host city and things on that

(05:27):
as we speak to you know, make that work, ll love.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
It well, we'll work for progress on that. And having
hosted it now once and you said here last year
it feels like last year, doesn't it, But earlier earlier
this year having done it once now alex is is
it very much for some parts of it anyway, But
of a lock and load, you just do you know,
you do what you did earlier this year for next
year in terms of the way the bases are set
up and and things like that.

Speaker 4 (05:52):
A little bit. Yeah, with the additional two teams obviously
will need to extend the tech site. So looking at
you know, crossing off over in the Hawsey Wolf around
the vibacked events in the area for the race stadium.
Obviously always looking at improvements, you know, how can we
make this better for us spectators? How can we build

(06:13):
on that fan experience, How can we get more people
down there to experience it? So yeah, always looking for improvements.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
Be good to have a New Zealand win too, wouldn't it.
I know you can't impact that, but that'd be cool.

Speaker 4 (06:26):
That would be great. You know, I'm absolutely rooting for
the Blues, but yeah, we'll see Alex.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
Great to chat. This is excellent news. We can lock
in the date for next year fourteen and fifteen February
for sal GP back in Auckland. Really appreciate you taking
the time for a chat.

Speaker 4 (06:40):
Brilliant thanks Jason, No.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
Thank you, Alex. Alex Cory there, she's the event head
for the New Zealand leg of sol GP February fourteen, fifteen.
Those are the dates. I haven't seen when ticket will
go on sale, and I'm sure that will be in
the not too distant future. Now that the dates have
been confirmed, I'm going to start lobbying for doing the
shows from down there. As we did earlier this year.

(07:04):
Great fun being down there in the in the the
teams were just so good to deal with, not just
a black fool, so you know, we basically got to
chat to whoever we wanted to, but all of the
teams they were quite happy to come and chat to
us in our mobile studio. So hopefully we can do
that again.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
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