Team New Zealand rules out holding the next America’s Cup in Barcelona | Valencian Community News

Team New Zealand, hosts and winners of the 37th America’s Cup last Saturday, announced on Tuesday afternoon it was ruling out holding the next sailing competition in Barcelona. In a press release entitled “Looking to the future, building on Barcelona’s success”, the organization estimates the audience attending the event at 2.5 million people from August to this month and notes a 50% increase in television audiences. Its leader, Grant Dalton, intends to continue to grow and assures that “it will be difficult to expand the number of teams, given the infrastructure space available in Barcelona.” “With these successes, we know we have some valuable properties that we want to continue to develop. “We remain open-minded about how best to achieve this through the facility or other facilities that can enhance the 38th America’s Cup with greater global presence, more teams and greater opportunities for overall expansion,” he says in the text.

“We are committed to growing audiences and participation across multiple regions, territories and demographics,” adds the CEO of America’s Cup Event and Team New Zealand. Brief Statement kiwi resolves speculation about whether the so-called Formula 1 maritime competition will hold its next edition in Barcelona, ​​although neither the team nor the government of Mayor Jaume Colboni have publicly commented on the future.

Meanwhile, the President of the Generalitat of Valenciana, Carlos Mason, and the Mayor of Valencia, Maria José Catala, both from the PP, returned to the fray this Tuesday with the proposal that the city once again host the Copa America after the conclusion last Saturday of its 37th edition in Barcelona. The PP has always defended the economic and promotional impact of the 2007 and 2010 competitions held in Valencian waters, to the extent that Mason called it the “natural home” of the maritime competition.

“I have already said that I did, am doing and will do everything possible to return the America’s Cup to its natural home, that is, Valencia, and that inexplicably (former president Ximo) Puig and former mayor Joan Ribot allowed it to escape. – he told the President of Valencia when asked about it. Both “gave up in a way that was insulting to the people of Valencia” so they will remain in the “dynamic of continuing to try, no matter how difficult it may seem,” Mason added in statements published by Efe.

Before the election of Barcelona, ​​Grant Dalton, manager of the sailing ship defending the current title, reaffirmed Team New Zealandchecked the possibility of holding this latest event in Valencia. However, the previous city council, ruled by the Compromise and the PSPV-PSOE, as well as the left-wing Generalitat, rejected this proposal due to its cost and very dubious profits. They estimated the collection at approximately 80 million euros and added other amounts in various concepts, raising the final cost of the event to public administrations to approximately 120 million euros. The Compromis, unlike the Socialists, was particularly aggressive regarding the organization of the America’s Cup in 2007 in Valencia.

Construction work on the new pier in the port of Valencia, carried out for the 2007 competition, cost approximately $320 million. Finally, the Spanish government took over the repayment of the ICO loan for the project after a lack of funding from the Consortium. The government, the Generalitat and the Valencia City Council created a consortium to pay for and operate La Marina. The space has become the city’s new entertainment hub and a hub for technology and entrepreneurial companies. The Navy is the greatest legacy of the 2007 competition.

Valencia Mayor Maria José Catala added another reason to her argument for the Copa America on Tuesday. He assured that this is in line with the desire to limit tourist apartments, since their impact is not punctual, but permanent. “The America’s Cup, as we study it, meant that many team members went to live in Valencia and many stayed. This is not one-time tourism, but a continuous economic impact over time, and in this sense, when the impact remains and is positive, we must value it differently,” Katala explained in statements to the media.

“In Valencia, instead of relying on tourism budget“For tourism that lasts for hours and has no impact, we must rely on specialized, quality tourism that has an impact, and within this strategy I consider our America’s Cup strategy to be absolutely consistent,” said the first mayor, who aims to continue after Rita Barbera, the mayor of the PP (who died in 2016), who ensured that Valencia was elected as the headquarters of the then title-defending team, the Swiss Alinga.

When asked about the debt that the event left in the municipal coffers, the mayor of Catala responded that if the event were chosen again, the administrations should promote it, but the private sector would have to cooperate. “Things change and we always work on these events with private sponsors, where possible, providing input on these issues. We think the administration can facilitate this, but if there is a payoff, the private sector should also help,” he said.

“The truth is that we are not throwing this problem aside. This is a matter that we are working on calmly and cautiously, and it needs to be seen. We believe that this event brought benefits to the city at the time. We will work towards recovery,” Katala explained in statements to the media. “I said this during the election campaign, I am not saying anything that I did not say then, but it is true that the previous government, both regional and local, gave up and lost the opportunity for the benefit of Barcelona”, “This has given rise to a serious competitor , which is Barcelona, ​​which has created some facilities and which is obviously a competitor that did not exist and now exists,” he added.

The Colboni government remains silent

In Barcelona, ​​the government of Mayor Jaume Colboni has not yet publicly commented on the succession. Publicly, the mayor and Socialist councilors applauded the competition, but privately they say they have no intention of repeating the experience if it costs the state treasury. This time the city paid around 70 million euros to become the headquarters. The idea is not to speak out until Grant Dalton does. After winning the regatta, Team New Zealand’s sailboat showed the city a flag of gratitude last Saturday: “Thank you very muchBarcelona”, without specifying whether we’ll see you soon or goodbye. “The entire administration was incredible in the way they welcomed us from the moment we arrived,” shared the New Zealand team leader. Employers, unions and city lobbies have welcomed the initiative, which they say is a way to show that the page has definitely been turned. processes independence and that Barcelona is once again attracting major international events.

In addition to the costs, the administration’s difficulties in Barcelona did not help in seducing citizens who, until the last days of the competition, did not meet expectations. There were comments against this, such as a demonstration a week before the final, but above all no reaction from the people of Barcelona in the face of competition, which was also the focus of the television audience and public figures on which the research was based. is questioned.