Well, I have reached 300 blogs now (Wow! Can you believe it already!) so here is the best bits of 2019 but this one is about the 9th chapter of The Team New Zealand Story 1995 - 2003 book which is Boosting the economy:
Well, here is chapter 9 of The Team New Zealand story 1995 - 2003 book which is boosting the economy that I'm doing today on my blog:
It's no secret that holding the America's Cup is equally valuable for both sporting & economic reasons.
The difference is the sporting benefit isn't readily measurable. It's more a case of a feel-good rub-off but it's the sporting success - or at least the event itself - that drives the tangible by-products for the economy.
Team New Zealand's victory in San Diego in 1995 provided the opprtunity for the magic of the America's Cup to galvanise New Zealanders in a nationalistic sense but it also opened the door for huge financial benefits. Mounting a successful defence in 2000 then created the chance to at least double the value in 2003.
Various spin doctors insisted the cup would have an enormously positive effect on both the Auckland & national economies. Obviously the ultra rich syndicates coming to town would generate significant spending locally while the impact on tourism could never be under-estimated.
It turned out precisely that way during & even after the 2000 defence & now there's optimism the 2003 event may be potentially even more lucrative.
It's similar to the New Zealand film industry. Projects such as the Lord Of The Rings extravaganza advertise New Zealand in a special & spectacular manner; the expectation is that will have a flow-on boost for tourism numbers down the line.
So it is with the America's Cup. The exposure for New Zealand & Auckland particularly during the 2000 regatta could only be exceptionally positive. The television coverage of the racing itself enhanced Auckland's image & so did the contribution by a vast contingent of international media. The tangible rewards of such promotion are likely to manifest themselves in the 2003 regatta.
Such anticipation is based on the results of an America's Cup 2000 Economic Report which rolled out an array of numbers endorsing the event's influence.
It claims the America's Cup generated $640m of value added to the New Zealand economy & $473 to the Auckland region's economy. Government sources later pointed out the GST take alone from America's Cup revenue was in the region of $100m.
The breakdown of information was even more illuminating in the America's Cup report. Among other statistics it showed syndicates spent $149.2m, super yacht owners contributed $118m & international visitors $164m.
Among business areas to benefit from that significant spend were the marine sector ($126.7m), construction ($491.7m), accommodation ($64.2m), restaurants/hospitality ($51.3m), retail ($56.8m), entertainment & leisure ($33.2m) plus media & communications ($23.6m).
Many of the businesses to prosper can, of course, be found in & around the superb facility now known as the American Express Viaduct Harbour. The immediate vicinity with its restaurants, bars, super yacht facilities & various boat industry businesses is the natural magnet for the America's Cup regatta.
Massive development changed the face of the area for Team New Zealand's first defence. It was unrecognisable from the dilapidated facility it had been & the good news is that considerable improvements & extensions have been made since 2000. There's no question the American Express Viaduct Harbour sets Auckland apart from other venues that have staged America's Cup regattas.
Tourism New Zealand can also point to any number of ways in which the America's Cup benefits the country as a whole.
Once came when the Auld Mug was on display at the Genoa Boat Show in October 2000 (several months after Russell Coutts & others had left Team New Zealand). Dean Barker & Tom Schnackenberg were both present & helped to generate 25 spots on television networks across Italy (plus 29 newspaper articles).
Tourism New Zeland also says 39,000 international visitors were in New Zealand specifically for America's Cup 2000 but also travelled extensively to destinations such as Queenstown.
It points to the media's influence as well, highlighting the fact that of the 1600-strong media contingent covering the last regatta two thirds were from overseas. It was estimated that 400 million people saw 1500 hours of television coverage in 98 countries. As they say, that's publicity money can't buy & the benefits may only become apparent during the 2003 event.
The America's Cup is first & foremost a sporting contest but everyone knows it's also one of the most potent business tools in the sporting world.
Auckland & New Zealand have witnessed that once & are about to do so again. Many people have a vested interest in hoping there'll be more to come after 2003 as well.
And in Rugby Championship news such as the All Blacks (Who had lost world class lock & hard man Brodie Retallick for the Rugby World Cup with a dislocated shoulder (Well, that is a massive blow for the AB's with 2 months out until the tournament begins because we have lost Damian McKenzie already & now Retallick has joined McKenzie as list of injured All Blacks who are in danger of missing the whole tournament through injuries) miss out on a win against the Springboks at Westpac Stadium in Wellington after the match between both sides ended in a draw (Although South Africa were 16 - 9 down but they were not out of it as they scored a try & a conversion to tie the game up right at the death therefore saving themselves from certain defeat) before the Wallabies returned to winning ways, punishing Argentina by 6 points at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane while in the Pacific Nations Cup, 2019 RWC hosts Japan, Samoa & the USA get their wins against Fiji, Tonga & Canada respectively.
And finally it was on Saturday that Pops took me to Cooks Gardens to watch the club rugby final here in Whanganui but it was Ngamatapouri who defeated Pirates 32 - 20 to claim the senior division title then it was Taihape who became champions of Whanganui club rugby, beating Border in the final of the premier division after the match ended in a draw so they had to go to extra time 10 minutes each way but it was Taihape who scored 1st at extra time & held on until the end (I literally enjoyed that match because it was reminiscent of the 2019 Cricket World Cup final which was decided in a super over) but 2 days later, me, Pops, Carole & Donna went to the movies yesterday which is The Keeper but the movie is about a German prisoner of war named Bert Trautmann who became a goalkeeper of a soccer team in England which started winning before eventually being signed by Manchester City, & after the movie we went to The Brick House where I had lambs fry & bacon with vegetables as well as a lemon meringue pie for dessert (And I mean what a lovely day that was).
So that is my 300th blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 40th of this year.
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