Here's how you can help Team NZ keep the Cup in Auckland

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz 25 Feb 2018 13:36 PST 26 February 2018

Emirates Team New Zealand need your help to ensure the America's Cup sailed in Auckland in 2021.

The first part of this fight is to support the Panuku Development's resource consent application.

Please take 10 minutes to make a Submission in support of the Application by Clicking here for an online Submission form

Submissions close this Wednesday, March 14, 2018

The next step will be that the Application has a Hearing in the Environment Court - you can elect to appear or make an appearance.

Most people will probably not want to make an appearance. However it is very important that you make it known to the Court and others that you support the Panuku Developments application. Numbers for and against an application are important.

At Sail-World, we have followed the application and plan development process.

Having attended the last three America's Cups in Valencia, San Francisco and Bermuda, plus the last three Olympics at Qingdao, Weymouth and Rio de Janeiro - all of which required sailing event specific facilities, the Panuku Developments plan is the closest fit with the best of these venues.

The Emirates Team New Zealand plan made public last week is even better - and legally fits within the Panuku Developments application - none of the other proposal and plans can do this.

Here are 10 points why the Panuku Developments plan is superior and is worthy of your support.

1. Central Location: The Panuku Development application is the most centralised option (along with Emirates Team NZ's subset plan). Having event facilities spread over a wider geographic area just doesn't work as well. The Team bases, America's Cup Village and Media Centre, are all in one centralised location making the best possible viewing experience. In Auckland, a typical Cup day involves the Dock-out Show as teams launch and leave for the day's racing. Most of the fans in the Cup Village will watch the racing on Big Screens and will stay for the return and haul-out of the race boats. Following that there can be "Dock-In" shows by each team for their fans, with the Media Conference being held within an hour of the return of the race boats which can also be viewed on Big Screens. The fans can then either leave using ferry or land-based public transport or retire to the many excellent and already established facilities around the Viaduct Harbour and America's Cup Village. Dispersing bases around various locations on Wynyard Point will completely kill the daily experience for fans, as has happened in other venues where this approach has been taken as a compromise. The Panuku Development's plan is particularly effective for this America's Cup Fan Experience, particularly for Aucklanders who are probably not living in accommodation close to the regatta venue. (It may be possible using ferry and bus transport to move some fans to Takapuna Beach to see the racing within a few hundred metres of the beach, and return.)

2. Public Transport friendly: The Halsey Street base proposals work very well for public transport - ferries bus and rail. With this event, fans need to get used to using public transport to get to the venue. This worked very well in Bermuda - with fans being able to be dropped at the America's Cup Village by ferry. The Britomart transport hub is very close to Halsey Street and Hobson Wharves. The America's Cup Village in Bermuda had a capacity (ticket sales) of 10,000 almost all of whom came to the venue by ferry (a 12 minute trip, instead of 35 minutes by road from Hamilton, Bermuda).

3. Superior Legacy use: The legacy use of the Panuku Developments is superior to other options, with Emirates Team NZ having a permanent base on Hobson Wharf which links well with the National Maritime Museum also on Hobson Wharf, along with the Big Boat and the America's Cup Sailing Experience running out of the Viaduct Harbour. This concentration of assets will become an ongoing tourist and visitor magnet in downtown Auckland and works well with the established facilities around the Viaduct Harbour and North Wharf.

4. Media friendly: The Panuku Developments plan also is very close to the Viaduct Events Centre which is the ideal venue for a Media Centre and Administration. Easy access for international media to the teams and sailors as well as being able to provide good facilities for viewing of the racing is vital to maximise the international impact of the event and New Zealand. Having the media centre away from the team bases does not work as the travel distances and times, while insignificant to the public are vital for media to meet tight story deadlines. Bermuda, Qingdao, Rio de Janiero and Weymouth worked well in this regard. The others did not work nearly as well.

5. Superyacht bethage facilities: The legacy use for superyacht berthing and servicing is protected and enhanced. New Zealand has a strong marine industry hub which can leverage off deep water facilities in the Viaduct Harbour and Halsey Steet vicinity. The Panuku Developments plan also provides sheltered water for superyachts which the other options do not. The Panuku Developments plan works well with superyacht facilities planned for the western side of Wynyard Point and preserves Site 18 as part of this bigger superyacht facility.

6. Underscores boatbuilding history in Auckland: Another legacy use of the Panuku Development's plan allows further opportunity for visitors to view superyachts up close. These vessels vary from new builds showing the latest marine technology to classic craft up to a century old and faithfully restored. Auckland has a strong boatbuilding heritage dating back to the port's inception, and while most of the yards are now gone, showing the history and current state of the boatbuilding and marine industry is very important and interesting for visitors. Team New Zealand is a very vital part of this history and ongoing legacy.

7.Minimal harbour intrusion: The extension of the Halsey Street and Hobson Wharves represent only a very small intrusion into part of the water space and is one which is little used. The Beca report "Marine Traffic Survey" notes that of almost 3,000 vessels observed only 50 (1.7%) crossed within the Princes Wharf - Wynyard Wharf water space - an average of one vessel per hour over the survey period, conducted over a seven day period in late November 2017. It is a more credible argument that the wharf extensions will increase the public use of the water space by providing a special area for watersport events ranging from Waka Ama, sea/ocean competition swimming, radio controlled yacht racing and many more. The detailed plans can be developed to allow public access to the harbour which occurs at only one other point in the area. Some water sports events have been held in the Viaduct harbour however space constrictions are a major limitation.

8. Harbour views already restricted: Views from the Halsey Street Wharf and North Wharf cafes were lost when the construction of a hotel was permitted on Princes Wharf - blocking views to the east. The view to the west is constricted by the tank farm and working hazardous substances and fuel storage area on Wynyard Wharf - which has been in place for almost a century. The viewing arc from North Wharf is just 30 degrees - framed by these two unsightly structures. The best harbour viewing point is at Wynyard Point offering an unobstructed 270-degree view of the Waitemata Harbour.

9. Achievable delivery deadlines: The Panuku Development application involves very tight but achievable project delivery deadlines for August 2019 allowing America's Cup teams to set up for the summer of 2019/2020 in Auckland and getting vital training for 18 months ahead of the America's Cup Regattas. This increases the spend in New Zealand by the visiting teams and also brings in more visitors to Auckland who are fans of the America's Cup (and who may or may not follow sailing as a sport). It also increases the amount of publicity received internationally in the build-up for the 36th America's Cup from journalists and media who will make/write progress and scene setting stories. A mistake in other venues has been the late delivery of facilities, or facilities which were only available a few months before the start of the regatta. This just encourages teams to turn up late with smaller entourages and the impact of the build-up for the America's Cup Regatta is lost.

10. Base construction options: Bases can either be constructed on behalf of the teams from semi-permanent materials, meaning they can be left between America's Cups or removed within 90 days of the finish of the event, by using prefabricated buildings. In Auckland and Valencia, some teams constructed their own semi-permanent bases which of the image that the team wishes to project to its sponsors can be attractive buildings. Prefabricated buildings were used on Cross Island in Bermuda which were removed after the event returning the area to a flat deck. Most of these were attractive and sturdy. However, it is a mistake to make structures too flimsy as they have to be closed in strong winds (above 35kts - which is not an uncommon windstrength in Auckland).

Submissions close on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 - your input is very important and will help the team to stage a spectacular America's Cup in Auckland.

Please take 10 minutes to make a Submission in support of the Application by Clicking here for an online Submission form

For the full Resource Consent Application Click Here