Can SailGP revive consumer confidence?

As the second SailGP event for the 2026 season, the New Zealand news cycle is pumping up the February 14-15 racing in Auckland. Here’s a report from Stuff media:

Can SailGP rescue Auckland’s economy?
Auckland’s economy is struggling, with retail spending data showing a two-speed recovery across New Zealand. One big hope is SailGP. The 2026 event in Auckland is set to expand with larger grandstands, more fans, and a waterfront showcase that could help restore the City of Sails’ reputation as a world-class host city.

The excitement is for a custom-built grandstand that will accommodate the highest-ticketed event in SailGP history. The 30 percent increase in grandstand size could see the number of spectators grow from 7740 to 10,236, with 25,000 people across the two-day stage.

The internet had a lot of energy for an event that’s six months away, but it is the Kiwi winter, and more people do need to buy tickets to fill the expanded capacity. But really, can an expanded SailGP in 2026 help lift the City of Sails and revive confidence in the economy? Standing by…

2026 Schedule:
• Jan 17-18 – Perth, Australia
• Feb 14-15 – Auckland, New Zealand
• Feb 28-March 1 – Sydney, Australia
• Apr 11-12  – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• May 9-10 – Hamilton, Bermuda
• May 30-31 – New York, USA
• June 20-21 – Halifax, Canada
• July 25-26- Portsmouth, GBR
• August 22-23 – Sassnitz, Germany
• Sep / Oct – Spain (TBC)
• Sept 12-13 – Saint-Tropez, France
• Nov 21-22 – Dubai, UAE
• Nov 28-29 – Abu Dhabi, UAE

CONFIRMED 2027 SEASON VENUES:
• Perth Sail Grand Prix
• May 8-9 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
• June 5-6 – New York Sail Grand Prix
• July 24-25 – Great Britain Sail Grand Prix
• August 22-23 – Germany Sail Grand Prix
• Rio Sail Grand Prix
• Dubai Sail Grand Prix

SailGP information – YouTube – Facebook

Format for Season 5:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Five qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the prize purse (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $400,000.00 USD prize purse with winning team earning $200k at each event).
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $2 million USD prize).
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will get a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had a $350,000.00 prize).
• Ten of the 12 teams are privately owned, with the league having ownership of New Zealand and Spain.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.

Source: SailGP