Well, it has been an amazing year so far in 2019 so here is the 1st part of the year starting with the best blogs of January & February 2019 with the most views starting with The Team New Zealand Story 1995 - 2003: Chapter 9 (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 the 2nd one is taken from My 1st blog of February 2019 (Six Nations round 1, Superbowl LIII round-up):
Well, Waitangi day is almost upon us tomorrow but in Six Nations news, Wales began their Six Nations campaign with a win against France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis after being 16 - 0 down at halftime while Scotland continue their dominance against Italy with a Blair Kinghorn hat-trick at Murrayfield in Edinburgh but England defeat defending Six Nations champions & All Black conquerors Ireland in an epic test match in Dublin thanks to England's assistant coach John Mitchell's innovative defence (But the resilient defence by Ireland had been broken by the English white wall).
And finally the Vince Lombardi Trophy is heading back to New England after the Patriots had a dominant display against the Los Angeles Rams in a low scoring affair at Superbowl LIII at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia a year after missing out on defending the Superbowl against the Philadelphia Eagles but what about star quarterback Tom Brady & super coach for the Patriots, Bill Belichick, they were back to its best.
And I did enjoy my time yesterday when me & Pops went to Caroline's for dinner last night where I had a Mediterranean lamb salad that I enjoyed so I had to pay with my meal before we went back home to watch the underarm incident documentary on TV on Prime last night (I had watched the Superbowl earlier in the day) but today I watched the F1 biopic movie Rush (I recorded it last night) that I haven't seen for over 5 years.
And the 3rd one is taken from Six Nations round 2 review, 2019 Super Rugby season preview & Black Caps Vs India 3rd T20 round up:
Well, my father & Raewyn's wedding is almost upon us on the 16th of February but in Six Nations news, Ireland get their 1st win of their campaign, beating Scotland 22 - 13 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh while Wales continue their dominance against Italy with a resounding 26 - 15 win at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to equal their 100 year old record for most consecutive test wins (They played their best Welsh side in years) & England (Who has their best defence in the competition since John Mitchell took over as defence coach but they actually believe that they could win the Rugby World Cup with the All Blacks likely to be their opponent in the semifinal (Well, the last meeting between England & New Zealand at a Rugby World Cup was 20 years ago but England have never beaten us before (Their 1st meeting was in 1991) go 2 from 2 in the Six Nations (Who followed up their victory against grand slam champions Ireland), thrashing France (Who played their worst rugby in years) 44 to 8 with a hat-trick by star winger Jonny May at Twickenham in London.
And the Six Nations is taking their mandatory 1 week break but Super Rugby starts this Friday on the 15th of February (The day after Valentine's Day) with the Chiefs taking on the Highlanders at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton then on Saturday it's the Blues taking on the defending champion Crusaders side at Eden Park in Auckland before the Hurricanes head across the ditch for their quest of regaining the title to take on the Waratahs at Brookvale Oval (A rugby league ground which is home to the Manly Sea Eagles NRL team) in Sydney but other matches are Brumbies Vs Rebels at GIO Stadium in Canberra, Sunwolves Vs Sharks at National Stadium in Singapore, Bulls Vs Stormers at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria & Jaguares Vs Lions at the Jose Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires.
And finally the Black Caps win the T20 series against India in the 3rd & deciding T20 at Hamilton with New Zealand opening batsman Colin Munro getting a half-century by scoring 72 runs but their next task for the Black Caps is against the giant killers of world cricket, Bangladesh, in a 3 match ODI series beginning tomorrow & the 3 match test series commencing on the last day of February 2019.
And the 4th one is taken from Super Rugby round 1 review, Black Caps 1st & 2nd ODI & my father & Raewyn's wedding round-up:
Well, the 2019 Super Rugby season officially got underway as the Highlanders produce a comeback win against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato in the Tron despite being a man down for the rest of the game (Highlanders reserve back Sio Tomkinson was the culprit who got red carded by New Zealand referee Glen Jackson for an illegal no arms tackle to the head on Chiefs captain Brodie Retallick who had to leave the field due to concussion so he was unable to continue) then the Blues were inconsistent against the defending champion Crusaders (Who were without hooker Codie Taylor, captain Sam Whitelock & All Blacks skipper Kieran Read), losing by 2 points at the garden of Eden in Auckland then the Hurricanes (Who had done it without the services of star first five Beauden Barrett) managed to win by just a single point against the Waratahs at Brookvale Oval in Sydney after Waratahs first five Bernard Foley had a chance to win the game with a penalty goal but he missed after that shot at goal attempt went wide at Brookvale Oval in Manly, Sydney & other results include the Rebels who had an upset victory against the Brumbies at GIO Stadium in Canberra upon Quade Cooper's celebrated return to Super Rugby (Cooper was unwanted by the Reds according to their coach Brad Thorn last year so he chose to be at the Rebels for this season) then Sharks who got the better of the struggling Sunwolves team in Singapore followed by the Bulls was the only home team to win a game by beating the Stormers at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria & of course, the Lions of South Africa, finally getting their 1st win against the Jaguares on Argentinean soil at the Jose Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires.
And the Black Caps have won the 1st 2 ODIs in Napier & Christchurch to clinch the ODI series against Bangladesh after our disappointing ODI series against India with New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill scoring back to back tons.
And finally it has been 3 days since the wedding of my father & Raewyn's wedding took place so I had a great time there plus some good guests (Including Pops, Aunty Tania (Who had to clean our house along with Rejean), Rejean, Carole Webb, Kathryn, Ken Branch, Ben Blain, Robina (Ben Blain's girlfriend who could be my best friend who is better than Sophia Ong), Uncle Nigel (Who was the celebrant), Uncle Nigel's adoptive son Isaac, Jansen, Toa Waaka, Toa's girlfriend/partner Kelli, Toa's daughter Hiritoa, Narlea, Narlea's husband Stephen, Nufemmia, Uncle Bryan, Aunty Viv, Aunty Viv's mother Donna, Uncle Bryan & Aunty Viv's son Ashley, Charlotte & the rest) including our whanau back there because the wedding was held at Uncle Bryan Christie's new place (I had a hangi there for dinner & had fruit salad for dessert) & I watched the rugby on TV because they have got Sky there.
So that is my 335th blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 75th of this year.
P.S. And the 2nd test between New Zealand & England had ended in a draw (Although the test series is won 1 - 0 by New Zealand) after both New Zealand captain Kane Williamson & Ross Taylor both getting centuries in the 2nd innings (Although Joe Root was man of the match for his double ton in England's 1st innings & Tom Latham scored a century in New Zealand's 1st innings) before it was rained out but the turning point of the test match was Joe Denly's dropped catch because it was shades of Mike Gatting against India in 1993 (Well, the Mike Gatting one was worse than Denly's).
And in rugby news for the last time this year as Wales have beaten the Barbarians (They lost to Fiji at Twickenham before they bounced back when they defeated Brazil in Sao Paulo but Irish hooker Rory Best had to bid farewell to his long & decorated rugby career as well as World Cup winning 38 year old Springbok Schalk Brits) by 10 points with both star winger Josh Adams & hooker Ken Owens bagging 2 tries each but player of the game honors went to Welsh prop Wyn Jones who had a brilliant game.
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