America’s Cup dispute settled

Auckland, New Zealand (December 21, 2020) – The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and America’s Cup Event Limited (ACE) announced by joint press release that the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment has settled its legal dispute with Emirates Team New Zealand over the use of public money for the hosting of the America’s Cup.

MBIE said that it had met ETNZ and America’s Cup Events (ACE) in mediation to resolve the issues. The dispute was over whether the creation of a class rule for the America’s Cup was an event cost under the host venue agreement.

“We regret the manner in which this issue has played out in the public arena and the detrimental reputational impact of the process on ETNZ and ACE, its directors and the teams.

“The parties have all agreed that there was reasonable basis for the differing views held to date,” a joint statement from the parties said.

“The contractual dispute arose during the course of an independent audit initiated by MBIE as a result of allegations of financial impropriety and misappropriation of funds, which were subsequently investigated and found to be wrong.

“In the course of the mediation regarding the dispute, ETNZ and ACE have provided MBIE with information and independent advice that supports their view.

“MBIE, ETNZ and ACE have now agreed that there was a reasonable and legitimate basis for ETNZ and ACE to consider that the class rule costs were within the scope of event costs in the host venue agreement.”

The New Zealand Herald reported that the dispute became public on July 1, when the Herald revealed the Government was investigating Team New Zealand and ACE over the spending of public money, including allegations of a “reclassified” $3m loan and claims of fraud involving a Hungarian bank account.

36th America’s Cup
In addition to Challenges from Italy, USA, and Great Britain that were accepted during the initial entry period (January 1 to June 30, 2018), eight additional Notices of Challenge were received by the late entry deadline on November 30, 2018. Of those eight submittals, entries from Malta, USA, and the Netherlands were also accepted. Here’s the list:

Defender:
• Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)

Challengers:
• Luna Rossa (ITA) – Challenger of Record
• American Magic (USA)
• INEOS Team UK (GBR)
• Malta Altus Challenge (MLT) – WITHDRAWN
• Stars + Stripes Team USA (USA) – WITHDRAWN
• DutchSail (NED) – WITHDRAWN

Key America’s Cup dates:
✔ September 28, 2017: 36th America’s Cup Protocol released
✔ November 30, 2017: AC75 Class concepts released to key stakeholders
✔ January 1, 2018: Entries for Challengers open
✔ March 31, 2018: AC75 Class Rule published
✔ June 30, 2018: Entries for Challengers close
✔ August 31, 2018: Location of the America’s Cup Match and The PRADA Cup confirmed
✔ August 31, 2018: Specific race course area confirmed
✔ November 30, 2018: Late entries deadline
✔ March 31, 2019: Boat 1 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ 2nd half of 2019: 2 x America’s Cup World Series events (CANCELLED)
✔ October 1, 2019: US$1million late entry fee deadline (NOT KNOWN)
✔ February 1, 2020: Boat 2 can be launched (DELAYED)
✔ April 23-26, 2020: First (1/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Cagliari, Sardinia (CANCELLED)
✔ June 4-7, 2020: Second (2/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England (CANCELLED)
✔ December 17-20, 2020: Third (3/3) America’s Cup World Series event in Auckland, New Zealand
• January 15-February 22, 2021: The PRADA Cup Challenger Selection Series
• March 6-15, 2021: The America’s Cup Match

Youth America’s Cup Competition (CANCELLED)
• February 18-23, 2021
• March 1-5, 2021
• March 8-12, 2021

AC75 launch dates:
September 6, 2019 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 1
September 10, 2019 – American Magic (USA), Boat 1; actual launch date earlier but not released
October 2, 2019 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 1
October 4, 2019 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 1
October 16, 2020 – American Magic (USA), Boat 2
October 17, 2020 – INEOS Team UK (GBR), Boat 2
October 20, 2020 – Luna Rossa (ITA), Boat 2
November 19, 2020 – Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Boat 2

Details: www.americascup.com