America's Cup Newsflash: Extraordinary meeting for new Plan

Hobson Wharf currently is the base for the National Maritime Museum and centre of the America's Cup Hub in Auckland © Richard Gladwell

Auckland Council has just announced that an Extraordinary Meeting of the Governing Body will be called for Thursday to consider a new plan for the 36th America's Cup.

The meeting which will be part-closed to the public will hear details of a new option "Hobson Point" which according to previous code translates to bases on Hobson Wharf and Wynyard Point.

If that is assumption is correct then it would point to Emirates Team New Zealand having a permanent base on Hobson Wharf, and the Challengers being located on Wynyard Point, with superyachts and J-class in between.

The previous version of the plan - the 6th variant outside the two put forward by Panuku Developments and Emirates Team New Zealand, involved a base perched on the end of Halsey Street Wharf for Emirates Team New Zealand and with the Challenger bases located in the hazardous substances and fuel storage area on Wynyard Point.

Sources close to Emirates Team NZ indicated the team had becoming exasperated with the lack of progress and last week was seriously considering its options in the alternate venue in Italy.

The proposal with the new option is to withdraw the existing Resource Consent Application and lodge a new Consent covering territory required for the new bases - expected to number between seven and eight.

The two aspects of the Open phase of the Meeting will consider:

1.To update the Governing Body on the investigation works led by the Crown on base location options for the 36th America’s Cup and to outline the Hobson Point option agreed by the Mayor and Minister Parker.

2.To agree to proceed with the lodgement of a resource consent application for the Hobson Point option and withdraw the Wynyard Basin resource consent application.

The Closed phase of the the Meeting will consider the financial aspects which are expected to be early-break fees for existing tenants, possible remediation work on the Wynyard Wharf bases sites, and the provision of alternate facilities for existing lease holders.

The question of a Hosting Fee may also be addressed in the closed section of the Meeting, and agreement on that point will be vital to obtaining Emirates Team NZ's consent for the staging of the 36th America's cup Regatta in Auckland.

Another unknown is whether the plan has been signed off by the groups opposed to the America's Cup, or if the plan will be signed off by Emirates Team New Zealand as being practical and able to be delivered within the required time deadlines.

Emirates Team New Zealand CEO is currently in Europe and is expected to be meeting the the Challenger of Record Luna Rossa. The Class Rule for the AC75 is due to be released on March 31, 2018.