As reported earlier on Afloat.ie, the Government has withdrawn Ireland’s bid to host the America’s Cup in Cork Harbour in 2024.

In a press statement this evening (Monday 28 March), the Department of Tourism and Sport confirmed that Minister Catherine Martin and Minster of State Jack Chambers “have today decided not to proceed further in the bidding process to host the 37th America’s Cup”.

It continued: “The America’s Cup is a prestigious and storied event and the Ministers and the Department have spent the last 6 months assessing the feasibility of Ireland hosting the event.

“However, the Ministers have, following consultation with party leaders and colleagues across government, accepted the recommendation from their officials not to proceed with a bid.”

The department said that “while Cork Harbour is potentially a great venue for the event, based on the technical assessment carried out the necessary infrastructural and planning arrangements would not be in place to host the event in 2024.

“An event of the calibre of the America’s Cup brings with it an expectation of excellent delivery; the tight timeframe available prior to the 37th edition of the Cup brought with it a large risk of under-delivery.”

The department said the ministers recognise that hosting the America’s Cup “would have brought positives for tourism in Cork and the wider region”.

It added: “However, it is also recognised that a very considerable amount of expenditure would have been required to deliver the event at a time of major and growing demands on the Exchequer and this had to be taken into account in arriving at a decision.

“The Ministers would like to acknowledge the very positive engagement with Team New Zealand/Origin Sports since this assessment process commenced, and to extend their best wishes to Team New Zealand for the 37th edition of the America’s Cup.”

Ireland began working on a bid to host the 2024 edition of the Auld Mug in January last year, before the last event was even raced, but concerns over the costs involved and political turmoil last summer put a damper on the effort.

The initiative was revived when the deadline was extended by the event organisers and a cheaper proposal was put forward in November 2021, and as recently as last month Cork Harbour was considered to still be in the race.

But hopes were dashed in recent days upon the news that Barcelona has been secretly preparing a bid to host the elite event. Winkie Nixon has more on that story in his Sailing on Saturday blog.

It’s been reported that the Government will not continue its bid to host the next America’s Cup in Cork Harbour in 2024.

Posting on Twitter, RTÉ News political correspondent Michaél Lehane said: “Ministers Catherine Martin and Jack Chambers, after consultation with party leaders and relevant cabinet colleagues, have today decided not to proceed further in the bidding process to host the 37th America’s Cup.”

Stiff competition had emerged in recent days with the news that Barcelona has been secretly putting together a powerful hosting bid for the elite race. Winkie Nixon has more on that story in his Sailing on Saturday blog.

Afloat.ie will update with more on this breaking news as it emerges...

The revelation that the mighty Spanish sailing resort and port city of Barcelona has been secretly putting together a powerful hosting bid for the 2024 America’s Cup in the heart of vibrant Catalonia has been bruising news down Cork Harbour way.

Indeed, the more sensitive in the Munster capital could be forgiven for having a feeling of being used, of being a patsy in the global process involving the murderous cut-and-thrust of international sports politics.

For there’s something specially poisonous about sports politics. Everyday politics is bound to be devious and messy, as it’s dealing with messy everyday life. But sports politics is ultimately about the exploitation of people’s beloved games, activities, recreations and hobby interests. In that exploitation, advantage is taken of such enthusiasts – “fans”, if you insist – when they’re at their most emotionally vulnerable.

It’s something which happens right across the board. Even the most tunnel-visioned Irish sailing enthusiast will have been aware that at mid-week, a combined bid by Britain and Ireland appeared to succeed in being selected as hosts for international football’s 2028 UEFA Cup.

But while this laudable joint effort was doubtless put together in the most thorough-going way, it seemed that we had been allocated the shared hosting of this supposedly prestigious sporting event simply because no-one else was interested in doing so, which makes any reasonable observer think immediately of pigs and pokes, closely followed by cans and worms.

Despite success afloat, the America’s Cup’s relationship with Auckland and New Zealand politics was becoming toxic

Since then, the waters have become even murkier, with Russia and Turkey turfing in some sort of last-minute bids. Yet although the scale of international football tournaments is – at a political and commercial level – way beyond the peaks of international sailing as represented by the America’s Cup and the Olympics, there’s a particular sort of nastiness in all sports which very quickly comes centre-stage as various crunch decision points approach in international situations of this type.

Decision day on 31 March

With the selection of the venue for the America’s Cup 2024 supposedly due for announcement on or before next Thursday31 March, sailors in Ireland find themselves emotionally and reputationally involved through the fact that a small but powerful group of mainly Cork-based top-levels sailors have been pitching Cork Harbour as a potential choice.

This is something that would inevitably involve considerable expenditure of taxpayers’ money in the provision of facilities, and therefore is – and has been – very much a matter of legitimate public interest and scrutiny as Cork finds itself lined up against Malaga and the mighty new blast from Barcelona, with Jeddah in Saudi Arabia being well-funded and more than willing to get in on the act even if international geopolitics is firmly against it.

All of this is the perfect recipe for the kind of openly aggressive turmoil which is usually absent from our normally rather private sport. And it reached a fresh height in recent days with a posting on the international site Sailweb, which went straight for the jugular:

Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton walked into a maelstrom as he arrived in Europe to inspect the short-listed venues for the defence of the 37th America’s Cup.

In the short time he has been in Europe he must have realised that the attitude to the America’s Cup is very different to that in New Zealand, even before you add a Russian military invasion force pounding a free, democratic country into rubble, with three million people already forced to flee across Europe.

The America’s Cup has a very different status here to that which he is used to in New Zealand. Unlike the New Zealand media, the press in Europe almost totally ignores the event. And where the next America’s Cup ends up in Europe is not high on the news agenda . . . including the sports news.

A determined and skilled negotiator – Grant Dalton with the America’s Cup

Even the Brits, who started the whole shebang by losing a race round the Isle of Wight - and after 170 years are no closer to winning than when they started - have little interest, especially for the horse-trading phase that is presently going on.

These factors are a problem for any potential venue involved in the bidding, as they cannot raise any enthusiasm from their governments to shell out for a commercial sailing race, especially one with teams backed by a bunch of billionaires who have more than enough spare cash to fund the whole affair if they so wished.

Not that New Zealand does not have its own economic and social problems as it recovers from Covid Pandemic lockdown, and politics and the America’s Cup are never far apart in New Zealand.

That is why Dalton is on this swing through Europe, desperately seeking a venue and the funds to put his team back on the road. After the New Zealand government baulked at funding another expensive Cup defence, he decided that the Europeans would be ready and willing to pick up the tab.

Unfortunately, real wars, rather than PR pumped-up sporting conflicts, come at a cost of both human lives and widespread economic mayhem, and some difficult personal choices. It is this mayhem and human suffering that is bankrolling the Russian war machine and filling the coffers of the Arab oil-rich states who are keen to clean their blood-stained largesse at such events.

Perhaps Mr Dalton will choose not to see the connection between all this and the backers of the bids from Spanish cities. Or perhaps he is just so desperate to put two fingers up to the New Zealand government, he will take the money. . . after all, it’s not his war!

However, the New Zealand government has shown more responsibility, recognising the cost in human suffering, and barring Russian and Belarus super yachts, ships, and aircraft from entering its waters or airspace.

Yet Dalton has a reputation as a hard-headed, win-at-all-costs team manager. And with four Cup wins, Team New Zealand is the most successful team in America’s Cup history.

But whether such a compromised deal would go down well with some of the ETNZ sailors, who have already expressed disquiet at negotiating with some powerful organisations – even at one step removed – remains to be seen.

The America’s Cup has been somewhat outmanoeuvred and overtaken by the upstart SailGP circuit, which is just about to stage its second $1 million final in San Francisco, with ten national teams expected to compete at nine international venues in Series 3, starting this May.

The “upstart” SailGP circuit – seen here in action in Sydney – has been stealing the venerable America’s Cup’s thunder

Nevertheless the Auld Mug still has a 170-year back-story and gravitas on its side, even if it is looking a bit tired. It is this back-story that some sailing commentators believe can pull in the money and the big corporate names to allow the America’s Cup to reinvent itself . . .

More responsible heads may wonder if Mr Dalton shouldn’t just make peace with his countryman, pick up his ball and head back home.

But having come this far, possibly that’s a step too far . . . It’s easier to follow the money.

Where does this leave Cork and Ireland?

“Ouch!” as you might well say, and “ouch” again. Yet we’ve felt it’s right to post this in full – with due acknowledgement to Sailweb – as sailing in Ireland is a cosy little world in which, when outside involvement intrudes, we like to think we close ranks while at the same time somehow managing to persuade some obsessed people that they’re in danger of making a holy show of themselves in the delusion that they’re doing us all the most enormous favour in promoting a certain course of action.

In fact, the excessively enthusiastic over-selling of Cork as a possible America’s Cup location might do longterm harm. Certainly Cork Harbour is a hugely successful sailing venue when it sticks to the knitting, and does what it can do very well. Its local sailing and club racing is at a level of involvement and egalitarianism other places can only envy. And Volvo Cork Week is another instance of Cork sailing being on top of its game while attracting international involvement.

Cork Harbour at its incomparable best in high summer. But it’s a long way from any berths in the heart of Cork city to the proposed America’s Cup racing area here in the near foreground

Within the Cork Week format, the introduction of the Beaufort Cup series for services crews was a stroke of genius – we can only hope that the pandemic is sufficiently under control by July for frontline medical service crews to be eligible for inclusion.

Being realistic about Cork Harbour

But in order to best fulfill its potential, Cork Harbour has to be realistic about its geographical and meteorological situation, and the social structures which underly its thriving sailing scene. Its meteorological reality is grounded in the fact that it is much further from the Equator than any other past or present America’s Cup venue. The fact is that Cork is on European weather’s Atlantic frontier, and while we certainly can get quite prolonged periods of summery weather, we’re talking Irish summer here – we may well like it, but it’s only a pale version of conditions further south.

Thus, when the initial proposals for Cork’s requirements for a realistic America’s Cup venue bid were aired, we were told that new state-of-the-art berthing would be required in Cork for at least 70 superyachts.

In “Plan 2” for Cork, the superyacht berthing originally envisaged for Rushbrook was moved to the proposed new facility in the heart of the city

The thought of seventy superyachts in a quintessentially Irish setting would make anyone feel slightly nauseous. Superyachts are indeed often beautiful creations, and technically fascinating with it. But they’re big boys’ toys, and some of the big boys who play with them have a personal air of menace which is simply horrific such that, for all their beauty, in certain cases superyachts stink.

But even if they were all smelling of roses, why would we need to make new berthing provisions for superyachts? The answer is that such berths are generally not needed here, as any Irish owner of a yacht above a certain size – whether sail or power – tends to keep her in the Mediterranean in summer and maybe move her to the Caribbean in winter, while those internationally-owned vessels which do venture north will only take in Ireland as a few ports of call while heading for the more spectacular destinations of the Norwegian fjords.

Cork city, yachtport?

Be that as it may, after the initial negative public reaction to the cost of the proposed America’s Cup’s provision of massively upgraded facilities at Rushbrook dockyard near Cobh – which would have been within convenient distance of the planned race area in open water south of Roche’s Point – the Cork AC venue promoters came up with the idea of purpose-built berthing right in the heart of Cork city itself, arguing that it would be more cost-effective, and it would respond more directly to supposed public interest within the city.

Plan 2 – the proposed AC base in Cork city

But the first thing we have to remember is that in any provision of new waterfront facilities in Cork Harbour, costs are much higher than in the Mediterranean because of the tides, even where the proposed facilities were mainly based on floating pontoons. The average tidal range in Cork Harbour is four metres (13ft). In Barcelona, by contrast – where they already have an extensive selection of harbours – the average tidal range is 0.3 metres (1ft).

Then, too, the harbours of Barcelona give rapid access to the racing area, whereas the frankly crazy idea of locating the AC boats and their service yards in the heart of Cork city was massively inconvenient. For sure, there is nothing more delightful than a mini-voyage from the Cork city marina down the harbour, either to the open sea or to one of the many little ports of call around Cork Harbour itself. But doing it on a daily basis with the awkward AC boats and their support fleets would be irksome in the extreme.

However, the ultimate objection to Cork as an AC venue was something much more visceral. This was the instinctive rejection which lay in the fact that there would be no Irish team involved – indeed, it was highly unlikely that anybody Irish would be sailing on any team, even with the most liberal interpretation of nationality requirements.

The Irish way in sport

Such a situation is just not the way we do our most popular sports, whether nationally or internationally. In several sports, Ireland is currently on a mighty roll at home and abroad at the moment, yet our international stars in horse racing, rugby, golf, boxing and whatever are of us and among us, while the Gaelic Athletic Association’s benevolent social role is globally unique.

From time to time, we do try to host events for sports with no significant Irish participation presence at the sharp end. But they become more like freak shows, as our heart just isn’t in it. And in the case of the America’s Cup, while Barcelona may be happy enough to provide facilities afloat and ashore with the workers to operate them, somehow it doesn’t seem quite right to be imposing such menial roles on the people around the harbour which is the home to the world’s most senior yacht club.

But in any case, whereas the proposition for Cork Harbour came slap-bang up against local and national opposition related directly to the current economic situation and the doubtful benefits of huge public capital expenditure in a time of rocketing costs, the current situation of Barcelona could have been tailor-made for hosting the 37th America’s Cup in 2024.

With strong support from the Catalan government, the port of Barcelona will be focused in preparing for the 37th America’s Cup in 2024

In addition to being climatically in exactly the right zone, the fact that it is within rivalry distance of Marseille is all to the good. For although there were those who said that 2024 being France’s Olympic year will provide an opposing distraction from the America’s Cup, the Marseille/Barcelona rivalry will actually ensure that even more energy is put into each event, as Marseille is hosting the sailing for what is officially the Paris Olympiad.

The SailWeb comment piece also hints at mysterious money being involved to encourage various interests into the fray. It may well be that it was Monaco which was described by Somerset Maugham as “a sunny place for shady people”. But the fact is that the entire Mediterranean basin is the world’s oldest maritime trading and nautical wheeler-dealer area. And if you’re a heavy hitter wishing make things happen discreetly within the international sailing scene, then the Mediterranean is the place to do business.

And putting Barcelona into the forefront chimes neatly with current Spanish national preoccupations. For it is not the Spanish government which is bank-rolling whole-heartedly behind the Barcelona bid, it’s the regional government of semi-autonomous and often rebellious Catalonia. In Madrid they reckon the devil soon finds work for idle hands, so if Barcelona and Catalonia can be kept hyper-busy and home-focused for a couple of years in preparing and spending for the 2024 America’s Cup in a race against the clock, then it’s all to the greater national good.

The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s signature building, is devoid of any straight lines

So we may be wrong, but we just can’t see the 37th America’s Cup going anywhere other than Barcelona. As for the great port city’s wonderful citizens, they’ll take it all with the effortless stride of people whose signature building is Gaudi’s extraordinary basilica of the Sagrada Familia. There’s not a single straight line in the entire structure, for as the architect said: “The straight line belongs to men, the curved one to God.”

To which we might add: “And the curve ball belongs to the promoters of the America’s Cup...”

An alternative proposal for the staging of the next America’s Cup in Cork could save the State some €80 million.

The Irish Examiner reports on the pitch to Cork’s civil servants which proposes a publicly owned site at Tivoli Docks as a base for the event rather than the private dockyard near Cobh suggested in the original bid.

In addition, the race village is envisaged at Kennedy Quay in the city centre, most of which is also under public ownership.

A drawback to this proposal is the longer tow-out for race teams to the open water outside Cork Harbour, as outlined in the briefing document.

But the estimated €80 million savings in staging costs might present a strong case to coalition leaders who in September requested more time to consider the cost-benefit analysis of hosting the Auld Mug in Cork in 2024.

Ireland remains in the running to host the event, with the announcement of the match venue pushed back until the end of March next year.

According to one usually reliable line of information, yesterday was to be the day in Auckland when Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, as Trustees and Holders of the America's Cup, were due to confirm the location for the AC37 series in 2024. But it seems to be on hold in light of the New York Yacht Club withdrawing its team on Wednesday, and the revelation on Thursday that the defending Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron would actually prefer to stage their third iteration at home if the resources could be raised, despite having put it out to international tender.

It's of considerable interest in Ireland, or would be if any announcement had been made, as Cork Harbour had been hailed by enthusiasts as being the preferred overseas bidder. But the small though powerful group of project promoters in and around the Southern Capital were so bedazzled by their own vision that it seemed they'd done insufficient groundwork with the rest of the country. Thus Ireland was somewhat bemused to find that the Rebel County assumed that the rest of Ireland would joyfully join them in divvying up at least €150 million in hitherto unplanned infrastructural spend in order to accommodate the event.

The modestly-housed Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has revealed its true feelings this week.

All this is at a time when the gap between rich and poor in Ireland is conspicuously increasing by the day in an era when our economy is so dominated by multinationals that we don't really know for sure how much Irish national wealth and income is expanding, if indeed – with inflation moving back in – it is genuinely expanding at all, other than in a few very favoured sectors.

Thus the optics were not good – in fact, they were terrible - in launching a project in which the government was given first one, and then another impossible deadline to commit to, when they'd very reasonably asked for six months, which to many observers seemed little enough.

We'd got to the stage on 17th September when it was revealed there'd be no further announcements until October 22nd. But in the meantime, other aspects of the supposed four bids emerged. Valencia in Spain – despite having the infrastructure in place from staging the 2007 America's Cup – withdrew from the fray, but the Spanish Government took up their option on a "maybe" basis.

MIDDLE EAST CAVEATS

There was serious interest from hugely-rich nations in the Middle East, but it emerged that American teams would be Governmentally-discouraged from going there. Consequently, this left New Zealand and Ireland the only venues in official contention, and as the AC coffers are empty in Auckland, Ireland found itself being made an "unrepeatable offer" which was dependent upon almost immediate acceptance.

This may have seemed utterly reasonable to those immersed in doing the negotiation in Cork and Auckland, but it had a rather unpleasant whiff of coercion, stalking horse, patsy – call it what you may – about it for the rest of us, a feeling which was emphasised the further you got from Cork to other parts of Ireland where it was thought that if this America's Cup idea is so utterly brilliant, then why aren't more top sailing nations fighting to get a bit more of the staging action?

Part of the problem is that the Cork promoters greatly exaggerated the global significance of the contemporary America's Cup in international sporting terms. Relatively speaking, it actually got more public attention back in 1903 when Thomas Lipton challenged with Shamrock III against Reliance, as seen in this early snippet of newsreel, which shows Shamrock ahead, but Reliance coming through while Shamrock seems to have had to dodge the spectator steamer on which the film camera was located.

In those days, popular arena sports were still relatively undeveloped, with horse racing probably the number one interest, while yachting at the America's Cup level maintained a certain prominence largely through the ludicrous wealth required, and the gossip-column figures involved.

But these days, we've wall-to-wall sport endlessly streamed with always advancing sophistication every which way. While the AC36 may have attracted more than 90 million screen viewers worldwide, their attention span was often extremely limited. In order to attract them and keep them watching, the 36th series was televised in such a way that it looked for all the world like some sort of video game dreamt up in a brain-storming session in Dundee, making some folk wonder why they didn't just do that in the first place, and thereby do away with the expense of actual expensive foiling boats and high-maintenance teams……..

Early stages of turning it into a video game – the 35th America's CupTechnology develops – the America's Cup 36 as re-shaped for the easily-distracted.

The fact is that as sailing has become more democratic with greater numbers involved, it has lost much of what might be called casual vulgar interest. Ordinary folk sailing ordinary boats with self-absorbed enjoyment isn't news at all, and though Cork sailors – and indeed sailors throughout Ireland and visitors too – might find some benefit in the improved harbour infrastructure after the America's Cup circus has left town following two or three stagings, it's a bit difficult to imagine that such longterm benefits will justify a sudden unplanned commitment to a spend of €150 million in 2021.

Then too there's the feeling that we don't really have skin in the game. While eight of the challenges between 1886 and 1930 had strong Irish links, we aren't involved at all these days. So in effect by bending over backwards to bring the America's Cup 2024 to Ireland, they're turning Cork Harbour into a sort of "Sailing Wimbledon", in which the locals don't get a look-in at all during the serious action.

MAKE IT A TOTALLY CORK THING

Nevertheless, when faced with the almost-boyish enthusiasm of the group promoting the idea of bringing AC37 to Cork, it's tempting to look at it another way. By all means, go ahead, but make it a Cork thing. The Port of Cork has been developing steadily into an entirely new and efficient infrastructure for several decades. In the bigger picture of Port of Cork expansion and expenditure, the addition of an America's Cup hub would not involve an unfeasible amount of money when seen within the Cork – or perhaps the all-Munster – context.

So maybe the rest of Ireland is really thinking: "America's Cup in Cork Harbour? Grand idea, lads. Feel free to go right ahead, and we'll cheer you on. But please realise it'll be your own money. However, after it's all over, you'll be entitled to all the credit. Go for it!"

The former Verolme Cork Dockyard – perhaps it could be best re-developed as an America's Cup hub using local resources?

Stranger things have happened in providing America's Cup hubs – just ask them in Perth, Australia. But if the Cork infrastructural project does shape up, let's be clear the problems may be only beginning. As Marcus Hutchinson – who has been involved in the running of five America's Cups – pointed out in a fascinating interview on Afloat.ie with Lorna Siggins, if it's staged at the height of the 2024 summer, it will be head-to-head for publicity with the Paris Olympics, where the sailing will be at Marseille.

Global attention is the lifeblood of the AC37 proposal. And if it's put back to 2025, the big one that year will be the Centenary Fastnet Race. But nevertheless in both 2024 and 2025, there'll be room for another big world-wide interest sailing event. But there's another factor that really needs attention, and that's the Irish weather. For sure we have climate change taking place, but it remains a fact that Irish summers can serve up whole weeks of grim meteorological conditions.

Cork Harbour as it can be on a perfect summer's. Nevertheless it has to be remembered that this is further from the Equator than any previous America's Cup location

The reality is that, except for the initial race won by the schooner America round the Isle of Wight in 1851, no America's Cup series has been staged at a location further from the Equator than 41.5 degrees of latitude. Yet when the world's top sailors do the Fastnet Race, they reckon they're virtually in the Arctic as they round the Rock, and Cork Harbour is even further away at 51.9N, even if by Irish standards we reckon it's in the deep south.

In the midst of all the turmoil which these factors are engendering, certain heavy hitters who have winning the America's Cup very firmly in their sights have been busy, and none more so than the British Ineos Britannia campaign headed by Ben Ainslie and backed by Ineos, the chemicals company.

Immediately after the previous series, the Britannia group as Challengers of Record were proposing a straight match event for AC37 between themselves and Team New Zealand, to be sailed from Cowes, but that didn't get very far. Yet what is more interesting is that while other teams fall away, Britannia is beefing itself up.

Although its challenge will have the Union Jack wrapped round it in the usual conspicuous display, it could more accurately be described as the Austro-Germano-English Challenge, as they've linked up with Mercedes genius Toto Wolff – who is Austrian – so the technical might of his Mercedes Formula 1 team with its roots in Germany is now into the equation, and the Ainslie challenge has more highly technical constructional and performance expertise to draw on than maybe all the other potential challengers combined.

Toto Wolff of Mercedes – a very impressive addition to the resources of the Ineos Britannia challenge

All of which makes it a very brief time-span to 2024, and further increases the pressure on Ireland to make a positive input. In view of the commercial and prestige advantages which will supposedly accrue, you would expect that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment would be actively involved, and the best brains of the Department of Finance too.

But in fact it's just that one extraordinary portmanteau setup, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media (foreign readers please note, we're not making this up) which has the first and last decision on this AC37 proposal.

The Department is headed by the personable Green TD Catherine Martin. To get some idea of the challenges and decisions which this uniquely Irish Government Department places on its Minister's desk, on Thursday Catherine Martin had the final call on whether or not night-clubs would be allowed to fully re-open, notwithstanding the newly-rising COVID-19 figures.

She gave the night-clubs the go-ahead despite opinions to the contrary voiced by many medical experts. Then yesterday she may well have been giving further consideration to the proposal to spend money around Cork Harbour in order to facilitate the staging of a specialist sailing extravaganza which will see the harbour over-run with superyachts and the super-rich in all their tasteful glory.

Night-clubs and superyachts…..Was it for this that Childers and Asgard ran the guns in July 1914?

Cork Harbour is now thought to be out of the running to host the America’s Cup in 2024.

An announcement is expected tonight (Wednesday, 15 September) from America’s Cup holders Team Emirates New Zealand (ETNZ) in which they will reveal their preferred bidder for the event.

A source close to Afloat.ie said Cork Harbour was the "preferred bidder" subject to certain "contractual details" and further analysis to be completed over the next two months.

It is also understood the Department of Sport officials wanted another six months or so to assess the bid even though the matter was with the Department since March. 

The news comes as a big disappointment to the Cork campaign. The team had been working on the bid since January, according to Cork TD and Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney

As Afloat previously reported, an America's Cup technical team had travelled to Cork in June to assess the venue.

A report in the Irish Examiner this afternoon suggests that there is “no political will” to back the event.

It’s understood that coalition leaders had requested more time to consider the cost-benefit analysis of staging the event, which would require a €150 million investment.

The campaign has had the backing of Coveney as well as local business leaders and even former Munster Rugby captain Doug Howlett — who believed Cork city and region could see a multi-million-euro economic boost from the event.

Cork Harbour’s ambitions to host the America’s Cup in 2024 have an unlikely champion in former Munster Rugby captain Doug Howlett.

But as the New Zealander tells The Currency, his sporting passions extend beyond rugby into the sailing realm — and he believes the benefits for Cork would be immense if it’s named the host city this week.

Howlett returned to New Zealand in 2019 after a storied career with Munster, winning the Heineken Cup and Magners League before retiring from the pitch to the office as head of marketing.

Mere months after he setted back home in Auckland, the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

But one of the bright spots during the difficult first few months was the 36th America’s Cup, which was won by the home crew of Emirates Team New Zealand and brought two-and-a-half million domestic visitors to the city.

As the winning team, it’s New Zealand’s choice of where to host the next edition of the contest for the Auld Mug.

Auckland was ruled out after its €58 million offer was rejected this past summer, which opened the floor for Cork to table a bid and reach the final judging stage alongside Valencia, Dubai and the Isle of Wight.

Now business leaders in the Cork are convinced that a commitment from Government to spend the €150 million required to stage the event would guarantee its hosting rights, as noted earlier by Afloat.ie.

And Howlett agrees that the long-term positive impact would justify the costs — with one report projecting a potential €500-million boon to Cork’s economy.

The Currency has much more on the story HERE. (Subscription required.)

Business leaders in Cork believe the city’s chance to host the 2024 America’s Cup is “ours to lose” and could be secured with the Government’s guarantee of funding.

But as the Irish Examiner reports, there are fears that recent political issues could put a spanner in the works as the race authority meets this evening (Monday 13 September) to choose the preferred bidder.

One of the campaign’s biggest champions — Cork TD and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney — faces a vote of no confidence in the Dáil arising from the Katherine Zappone appointment controversy.

The estimated €150-million hosting bill could be a hard sell with Government attentions elsewhere. But as previously reported on Afloat.ie, the event has been pegged as worth up to €500 million for Cork and the wider economy.

“It’s ours to lose now,” says Cork Chamber president Paula Cogan. “If in a few years time we looked back on this and thought we’d lost this opportunity, it would reflect badly on the decision-makers of the time.

“This is perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Cork, for Ireland, to host such a huge global sporting event. “

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

New Zealand’s reportedly rejected multi-million-euro offer to host the next America’s Cup could give some indication of how much Cork Harbour’s ambitions would cost.

According to Marine Industry News, the Auld Mug holders Emirates Team New Zealand are opening discussions abroad after turning down a bid from their home nation’s government worth NZ$99 million, or some €58.3 million.

It’s being reported that ETNZ is seeking a package worth more than double that number — which would put any price for Cork Harbour and other interested parties around the world into nine figures.

NZ prime minister Jacina Ardern is quoted as saying: “The ball is in their court. We believe we’ve made a decent offer, and now it’s for them to resolve where the cup will be raced.”

As reported earlier today on Afloat.ie, Cork Harbour is lining up a bid for the rights to host the prestigious yacht race in 2024.

Two of the three America's Cup challengers may not take part in the first practice races following incidents on the water earlier in the week.

As the NZ Herald reports, Ineos Team UK and American Magic are in doubt for tomorrow’s (Friday 11 December) racing in Auckland after boat issues sustained on the course off Maraetai, an eastern suburb of New Zealand’s largest city.

“They're not ready,” regatta director Iain Murray said. “I think the British broke their boat on the first day and I still don't think it's recovered from that.”

The setback will be the last thing the British and American teams will want as the defending Emirates Team New Zealand remains the boat to beat.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, four teams — including Italy’s challenger Luna Rossa — will battle it out with their second-generation AC75s in the America’s Cup World Series Auckland and Christmas race, from next Thursday 17 December.