When the hosting rights of the America’s Cup were first put out to bid for the 2007 event, it began a new chapter for event. Leveraging the venue’s value has become a new income stream for the Defender, and it is fair to say the Defender has generally benefited more than the host.

The latest City to invest in the America’s Cup commercial impact is the Spanish port city of Barcelona, though as Chris Collings offers in this report, the 2021 event is a reminder of what you see when the smoke clears:

I’m visiting family in New Zealand at present and stopped by the Viaduct basin in Auckland where AC36 was based out of. Beginning with earlier AC campaigns and finalized in full scale for AC36, the Viaduct basin, the neighboring yacht basin, and the waterfront trade/conference center was fully committed to Team New Zealand and the efforts to successfully race and defend the Cup.

An industrial area was cleared to accommodate the yachts, the various AC teams, and a long list of luxury hotels etc. This was no small-scale commitment by the New Zealand national government, Auckland city council, and private property developers.

But now, after COVID and with AC37 sold to the highest bidders in Spain, the entire area is half starved for boats, businesses, and visitors. The Yacht basin built for the visiting AC teams is empty, as is the convention center. The Viaduct basin is at about 50% capacity.

Gone is the activity and action of the various teams, gone are the large yachts…