March 5, 2025 • 10 mins
Auckland is bidding to host the 38th America’s Cup.
Talks have occurred with defender Emirates Team New Zealand about bringing the world’s oldest sporting event back home for the next edition.
Commentator Peter Lester joined D'Arcy to unpack if this could happen in time for 2027.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcy Wildergrave
from News Talks'd be.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
They joined now by Peter Lester, longtime America's Cup commentat
a long time sailing. What he hasn't sailed isn't worth floating,
He joins us now to talk the return of the
America's Cup. We will see get a Peter. Hi, Darcy,
I trust you're well and maybe not overly excited, but
(00:33):
you would have a twitch when you saw that information
that possibly maybe the America's Cup is coming back. Look
there's a lot of water yet, but isn't it nice
to see the advance from Taratucky Auckland unlimited.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Absolutely absolutely, and like all negotiations, that the parties are
talking and so as a pundit sitting on the outside
of the politics, you think, well, if they're talking, there
is a chance and if a deal can be put
together that works for local and central government and for
Emirates Team New Zealand to try and defend it for
the fourth time, that'd just be brilliant.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Seems pragmatic from Team New Zealand statement from Grant Dalton.
Yet we are talking, yes, we understand it needs to
be private. Investment. Yes, there needs to be central government investment.
We haven't gone along that route yet yet, but this
is what we need. So it's not a shut door.
There's obviously no bad blood. It's all washed away and
(01:31):
they're just sticking by the statement. They know what they
need to present this and they're not gonna wabble from it.
But I think when you look at the amount of
money they got dragged through Barcelona and that report that
came out, you can understand why.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Well, America's Cup, you know, it's got a value. And
in that report and I read it this morning like
you did, Darcy, and I guess i'd had winder. But
when we're actually up in Barcelona that the Barcelona University,
we're doing the report on the America's Cup being in Barcelona,
and the initially, even when the event was on, it
(02:07):
was very positive and that's been born out today with
some pretty eye watering figures.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Pretty high watering. I think you've got to put an
asterisk around this though, don't you two billion dollars New
Zealand of economic benefit. You probably wouldn't replicate that here
in Auckland, and that's just based on the distance and
the population hard to get here. Is not a lot
of us here, but it's still got a lot of traction.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Oh absolutely, yeah, But you do have to keep it
in context. I mean having a major sporting event, a
marine sporting event like the America's Cup and the Mediterranean
it's easy for people to get to and have a look.
I mean two hundred and thirty odd you know, super
yachts in that harbor. You're not going to get those
numbers down in Auckland, but you'd still get a significant
(02:55):
amount of you know, the world's billionaires because it attracts them.
They want to be there, They want to be seen
around an event like the America's Cup, you know which
what now, it's one hundred and seventy three years old,
the oldest competitive sport you know, trophy in the world.
It's got that mentra that the rich and the famous
(03:17):
love it.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I don't like to be proven wrong, no one does,
but I suppose I have to. When Grant said we
need this money to defend this, otherwise it's not going
to happen, Well he got us money and they defended
it and they did very very well. So it still
showed they are at the top of their tree. But
the funding has to be there otherwise they'll be toppled.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, look the team, you know, for the team to
be competitive and to have a chance of defending the
America's Cup, look, the hard reality is you've got to
have enough funding. And that was the driver why Galton
took the America's Cup off shore. He didn't want to
set the team up to fail and they didn't. The
(04:03):
other thing I think that's relevant is what the other
bits that went on with technology around the America's Cup
and Barcelona. You know, from the the e Sports America's Cup.
You know, a computer game that that was huge, the
Youth and Woman's America's Cup in the ac forties that
was massive. The automation that was used to move marker
(04:25):
boys around around the course, the you know, on the
television side, the use of windfield, you know, so we
could see the breeze on the water. That technology doesn't
come cheap. And that's in addition to what happens with
the team. In terms of Emirates, Tea, New Zealand and
the other America's Cup teams are really technology companies. Now
(04:47):
Darcy that happened to sale yachts, but all of that
technology comes at a price.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Do you think the sale GP and the success of
sale GP here has also maybe reignited interest in sailing.
We've lost the America's Cup, lost the Around the World Race,
lost all that. Now I think we've seen that people
are still keen if it's presented to them. It's probably
a bit of a long bow to draw both of
(05:12):
those together, but it does show an interest and how
good we are putting these things on.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I was wrapped to see sal GP on the harbor,
you know, I think it's a really good entertainment package
that was held right down in the wind caught up.
Thousands of people turned up to see the bars and
restaurants down in the viaduct base and are live and
kicking in those businesses all doing well. I mean, that's
(05:39):
brilliant for Kiwis and we've been starved at that In
terms of events.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Do you think Central Garden might have an interest when
you look at the debate they had previously and there
could you call it lack of engagement when it came
to what happened over in Bartholona? Did we really try
and benefit from the exposure you're over there, Team New
Zealand was a big name, wasn't it huge?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
The Louis Vuitton Cup, the Challenger series in the America's
Cup pretty well went well from August through to the
end of October. Through that period in terms of local
sports stories, the two big big stories were LaLiga, the
Spanish football league, which is massive, and Barcelona of course
with the Barcelona Football Club and the America's Cup. And
(06:25):
at the forefront of that through a lot of that
media coverage were Emirates Team New Zealand and I was
a little bit surprised that brand in New Zealand wasn't leveraged.
More off that, I mean, some did leverage offer. I
mean Nati Fato Iraqi, I thought did a hell of
a job up there in terms of, you know, promoting
(06:45):
married internationally and that didn't go unnoticed, and I'm sure
that was part of their plan. And the marine industry
certainly put on a bit of a trade show to
look at some of those megayachts that were you know,
two hundred plus megayachts in Barcelona when they come to town.
(07:06):
Of course, the maintenance and the catering and the jobs
created by that mega yacht industry is massive but ends
in marine. Peter Busfield his team did do a pretty
good job. But other than that, I thought New Zealand
missed an opportunity in terms of tourism, primary produce, you know,
(07:27):
promoting New Zealand as a food producing country and as
a brilliant destination for tourists. I thought there was they
missed a trick there. Do they think the lessons were
taken from that?
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Though?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It was very clear I think right up front of
everybody to see that this maybe was, as you said,
an opportunity lost. You think that might count in favor
of it. Possibly, I say possibly coming back.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Well, I mean the Europeans fishing in the marine industry
and the America's Cup, they see New Zealand as a
must do destination and the flow on effect to the
marine industry, boat buildings, sale making, you know, the high
tech industries with hydraulics and megatronics of course around America's
Cup foil design that does not go unnoticed by Europeans
(08:17):
and the North Americans. And I think if it's packaged
up right and look, think goodness Dalton is involved with
the you know that performance side, because he's damn good
at selling and promoting Emirates team New Zealand, and I
think if the negotiations are done right, Grant there's no
one more passionate Keiwi in my mind to Dalton than
(08:37):
Dalton about New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
One last thing, Peter Leicester America's Cup commentative, what about
entries that when you look at it, the America's Cup
is best when it's got a lot of entries. Do
you think there would be the traction around overseas teams?
Look what's happened with Ratcliffe. I don't know where the
other teams sit. Would they better tract enough teams over
(08:59):
here to make it a worthwhile regatta?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Well that's the challenge because what there were two more
teams in them what we had in Auckland in Barcelona
with a Linge turning up again and of course they
have won the America's Cup, of course they want it here.
In what two thousand and seven they were back in
the game and Esto bert Alias said he will continue.
(09:23):
So I think if it's in Europe or in Auckland,
that I would expect to see a Lingi back in town.
The French were back in the game with Orient. Now
they were helped by Emirates Tea New Zealand with their
design package and they were competitive. Lack of reliability let
them down a wee bit. And there's a few sniffing
(09:46):
in the sidelines which whether they'd come to New Zealand
as opposed if it stayed in the med I mean,
there's talk of the Swedes Artemis getting back into the game,
the Spanish. There was a little bit of talk about
a Spanish Challenge, but again that might be that might
be only if it was in the Mediterranean or in Spain.
And even the Aussies were there, you know, Australian interest
(10:08):
in maybe entering back into the Cup and wouldn't that
be brilliant Now if it came to New Zealand. I
think that would even be easier for the Australians to
get back into the game. So look all that stuff.
I'm sure the negotiations will flush that out between Challenge
of Record and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and
Emiratesty New Zealand. That's the negotiation, that's the bottom line
(10:31):
that they'll have to flush out. You know, who's going
to be entering for the thirty eighth America's Cup.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
For more from sports talk, listen live to news talks
they'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcy Wildergrave
from News Talks'd be.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
They joined now by Peter Lester, longtime America's Cup commentat
a long time sailing. What he hasn't sailed isn't worth floating,
He joins us now to talk the return of the
America's Cup. We will see get a Peter. Hi, Darcy,
I trust you're well and maybe not overly excited, but
(00:33):
you would have a twitch when you saw that information
that possibly maybe the America's Cup is coming back. Look
there's a lot of water yet, but isn't it nice
to see the advance from Taratucky Auckland unlimited.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Absolutely absolutely, and like all negotiations, that the parties are
talking and so as a pundit sitting on the outside
of the politics, you think, well, if they're talking, there
is a chance and if a deal can be put
together that works for local and central government and for
Emirates Team New Zealand to try and defend it for
the fourth time, that'd just be brilliant.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Seems pragmatic from Team New Zealand statement from Grant Dalton.
Yet we are talking, yes, we understand it needs to
be private. Investment. Yes, there needs to be central government investment.
We haven't gone along that route yet yet, but this
is what we need. So it's not a shut door.
There's obviously no bad blood. It's all washed away and
(01:31):
they're just sticking by the statement. They know what they
need to present this and they're not gonna wabble from it.
But I think when you look at the amount of
money they got dragged through Barcelona and that report that
came out, you can understand why.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Well, America's Cup, you know, it's got a value. And
in that report and I read it this morning like
you did, Darcy, and I guess i'd had winder. But
when we're actually up in Barcelona that the Barcelona University,
we're doing the report on the America's Cup being in Barcelona,
and the initially, even when the event was on, it
(02:07):
was very positive and that's been born out today with
some pretty eye watering figures.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Pretty high watering. I think you've got to put an
asterisk around this though, don't you two billion dollars New
Zealand of economic benefit. You probably wouldn't replicate that here
in Auckland, and that's just based on the distance and
the population hard to get here. Is not a lot
of us here, but it's still got a lot of traction.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Oh absolutely, yeah, But you do have to keep it
in context. I mean having a major sporting event, a
marine sporting event like the America's Cup and the Mediterranean
it's easy for people to get to and have a look.
I mean two hundred and thirty odd you know, super
yachts in that harbor. You're not going to get those
numbers down in Auckland, but you'd still get a significant
(02:55):
amount of you know, the world's billionaires because it attracts them.
They want to be there, They want to be seen
around an event like the America's Cup, you know which
what now, it's one hundred and seventy three years old,
the oldest competitive sport you know, trophy in the world.
It's got that mentra that the rich and the famous
(03:17):
love it.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
I don't like to be proven wrong, no one does,
but I suppose I have to. When Grant said we
need this money to defend this, otherwise it's not going
to happen, Well he got us money and they defended
it and they did very very well. So it still
showed they are at the top of their tree. But
the funding has to be there otherwise they'll be toppled.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, look the team, you know, for the team to
be competitive and to have a chance of defending the
America's Cup, look, the hard reality is you've got to
have enough funding. And that was the driver why Galton
took the America's Cup off shore. He didn't want to
set the team up to fail and they didn't. The
(04:03):
other thing I think that's relevant is what the other
bits that went on with technology around the America's Cup
and Barcelona. You know, from the the e Sports America's Cup.
You know, a computer game that that was huge, the
Youth and Woman's America's Cup in the ac forties that
was massive. The automation that was used to move marker
(04:25):
boys around around the course, the you know, on the
television side, the use of windfield, you know, so we
could see the breeze on the water. That technology doesn't
come cheap. And that's in addition to what happens with
the team. In terms of Emirates, Tea, New Zealand and
the other America's Cup teams are really technology companies. Now
(04:47):
Darcy that happened to sale yachts, but all of that
technology comes at a price.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Do you think the sale GP and the success of
sale GP here has also maybe reignited interest in sailing.
We've lost the America's Cup, lost the Around the World Race,
lost all that. Now I think we've seen that people
are still keen if it's presented to them. It's probably
a bit of a long bow to draw both of
(05:12):
those together, but it does show an interest and how
good we are putting these things on.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I was wrapped to see sal GP on the harbor,
you know, I think it's a really good entertainment package
that was held right down in the wind caught up.
Thousands of people turned up to see the bars and
restaurants down in the viaduct base and are live and
kicking in those businesses all doing well. I mean, that's
(05:39):
brilliant for Kiwis and we've been starved at that In
terms of events.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Do you think Central Garden might have an interest when
you look at the debate they had previously and there
could you call it lack of engagement when it came
to what happened over in Bartholona? Did we really try
and benefit from the exposure you're over there, Team New
Zealand was a big name, wasn't it huge?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
The Louis Vuitton Cup, the Challenger series in the America's
Cup pretty well went well from August through to the
end of October. Through that period in terms of local
sports stories, the two big big stories were LaLiga, the
Spanish football league, which is massive, and Barcelona of course
with the Barcelona Football Club and the America's Cup. And
(06:25):
at the forefront of that through a lot of that
media coverage were Emirates Team New Zealand and I was
a little bit surprised that brand in New Zealand wasn't leveraged.
More off that, I mean, some did leverage offer. I
mean Nati Fato Iraqi, I thought did a hell of
a job up there in terms of, you know, promoting
(06:45):
married internationally and that didn't go unnoticed, and I'm sure
that was part of their plan. And the marine industry
certainly put on a bit of a trade show to
look at some of those megayachts that were you know,
two hundred plus megayachts in Barcelona when they come to town.
(07:06):
Of course, the maintenance and the catering and the jobs
created by that mega yacht industry is massive but ends
in marine. Peter Busfield his team did do a pretty
good job. But other than that, I thought New Zealand
missed an opportunity in terms of tourism, primary produce, you know,
(07:27):
promoting New Zealand as a food producing country and as
a brilliant destination for tourists. I thought there was they
missed a trick there. Do they think the lessons were
taken from that?
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Though?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It was very clear I think right up front of
everybody to see that this maybe was, as you said,
an opportunity lost. You think that might count in favor
of it. Possibly, I say possibly coming back.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Well, I mean the Europeans fishing in the marine industry
and the America's Cup, they see New Zealand as a
must do destination and the flow on effect to the
marine industry, boat buildings, sale making, you know, the high
tech industries with hydraulics and megatronics of course around America's
Cup foil design that does not go unnoticed by Europeans
(08:17):
and the North Americans. And I think if it's packaged
up right and look, think goodness Dalton is involved with
the you know that performance side, because he's damn good
at selling and promoting Emirates team New Zealand, and I
think if the negotiations are done right, Grant there's no
one more passionate Keiwi in my mind to Dalton than
(08:37):
Dalton about New Zealand.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
One last thing, Peter Leicester America's Cup commentative, what about
entries that when you look at it, the America's Cup
is best when it's got a lot of entries. Do
you think there would be the traction around overseas teams?
Look what's happened with Ratcliffe. I don't know where the
other teams sit. Would they better tract enough teams over
(08:59):
here to make it a worthwhile regatta?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Well that's the challenge because what there were two more
teams in them what we had in Auckland in Barcelona
with a Linge turning up again and of course they
have won the America's Cup, of course they want it here.
In what two thousand and seven they were back in
the game and Esto bert Alias said he will continue.
(09:23):
So I think if it's in Europe or in Auckland,
that I would expect to see a Lingi back in town.
The French were back in the game with Orient. Now
they were helped by Emirates Tea New Zealand with their
design package and they were competitive. Lack of reliability let
them down a wee bit. And there's a few sniffing
(09:46):
in the sidelines which whether they'd come to New Zealand
as opposed if it stayed in the med I mean,
there's talk of the Swedes Artemis getting back into the game,
the Spanish. There was a little bit of talk about
a Spanish Challenge, but again that might be that might
be only if it was in the Mediterranean or in Spain.
And even the Aussies were there, you know, Australian interest
(10:08):
in maybe entering back into the Cup and wouldn't that
be brilliant Now if it came to New Zealand. I
think that would even be easier for the Australians to
get back into the game. So look all that stuff.
I'm sure the negotiations will flush that out between Challenge
of Record and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and
Emiratesty New Zealand. That's the negotiation, that's the bottom line
(10:31):
that they'll have to flush out. You know, who's going
to be entering for the thirty eighth America's Cup.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
For more from sports talk, listen live to news talks
they'd be from seven pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio
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