36th America’s Cup Post-event Reports Released

Post-event reporting on the 36th America’s Cup (AC36) has been released today. The reports cover the delivery of the event by Crown, Council and America’s Cup Event Limited, economic impacts for Auckland and New Zealand, and delivery of critical infrastructure.

The reporting shows that, despite the challenges of COVID-19, a world-class sporting event was delivered.

The high-level Auckland, New Zealand’s Hosting of the 36th America’s Cup report notes:

· The overall economic return of AC36 was much lower than forecast. This was due to the lower-than-expected number of Challengers and then the subsequent impacts of COVID-19, as well as the costs being higher than forecast.

· A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) identified that, when considering financial returns only, New Zealand got 48 cents back for every dollar put in. The same measure for Auckland equates to 72 cents back for every dollar put in.

· A total of $348.4 million spent by Crown ($133.2m) and Council ($215.2m) on AC36 related capital and operating expenditure over four years. Parts of the Auckland Council contribution includes costs associated for work that would have been done regardless of the event taking place, but was brought forward to be ready in time for AC36 (further information on this can be found in the Auckland Council media release).

· AC36 created an additional $284.6 million of much-needed expenditure to Auckland through costs of event operations, purchases of tourism goods and services and other goods and services.

· AC36 attracted 38,745 visitors to Auckland, who stayed 377,765 nights around the region.

· AC36 was the most watched America’s Cup of all time, with a dedicated audience of 68.2 million viewers across the world, in 198 countries, putting Auckland and New Zealand in the spotlight around the globe.

· 14,000 students from across New Zealand took part in Yachting New Zealand’s Kōkōkaha education programme.

The impact evaluation also included thorough consideration of social, cultural and environmental costs and benefits and, for the first time, has attributed a monetary value to these benefits and costs. This methodology gives us a richer picture of broader costs and benefits for this event, and for future large-scale events.

When taken together with financial impacts, this wider view showed a benefit-cost ratio of 0.79 for New Zealand i.e. 79 cents back for every dollar invested, with overall costs of $744.2 million against benefits of $588.1 million. However, this cannot be compared with other events or previous forecasts for America’s Cup, as those reports have not attributed a monetary value to these wider costs and benefits. It will now, however, be possible to benchmark future events using this wider cost-benefit approach.

Due to the scale, size and duration of the event, a significant multi-agency effort went into making AC36 a success. America’s Cup Event Ltd, Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and the Challenger of Record – Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli – worked in partnership with representatives from the Crown, Auckland Council and mana whenua.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Deputy Secretary Paul Stocks said that while the economic return was lower than expected, New Zealand should be proud of the event that was delivered, including the international audience exposure gained.

“AC36 was the most watched America’s Cup of all time, with a dedicated audience of 68.2 million viewers across the world, in 198 countries, putting Auckland and New Zealand in the spotlight around the globe.

“It delivered key infrastructure at the Auckland waterfront, and also supported domestic tourism, bringing nearly 39,000 people to Auckland, helping to inject much-needed expenditure to a wide range of businesses.

The post-event evaluation reports released on the Major Events, and Auckland Council websites include:

· Auckland, New Zealand’s Hosting of the 36th America’s Cup, MBIE and Auckland Unlimited, on behalf of Crown and Council agencies, July 2021

· 36th America’s Cup Impact Evaluation, Fresh Info Ltd, June 2021

· 36th America’s Cup Hosts’ Operational Delivery Report, compiled by Auckland Unlimited on behalf of Auckland Council and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on behalf of the Crown, as Hosts of the 36th America’s Cup, July 2021.

· Wynyard Edge Alliance Value for Money: Executive Summary report, The Property Group, February 2021

· Additional reports on the Crown and Council’s Operational Delivery, Leverage and Legacy, Māori Outcomes will be released in August 2021.

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