The New Zealand Government confirmed funding for the America's Cup, with NZ$100M ($69M) set aside in the budget, according to Bernard Orsman of the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. When a final agreement for the location of the America's Cup costing NZ$212M ($145.7M) was confirmed in late March, the government announced it would "chip in" NZ$114M ($78.4M), including a NZ$40M ($27.5M) "host contribution fee." The council agreed to pay NZ$98.5M ($67.7M). The plan puts Team New Zealand's base in the Viaducts Event Centre and "casts aside an alternative in which the team would have been based on an extended Halsey Wharf." Construction of the bases "is due to begin later this year once the council gets resource consent" (NZ HERALD, 5/17). STUFF reported a statement from Team NZ said that the government's contribution would go toward "the infrastructure and running of the regatta, and not to the team itself." The Kiwi syndicate "has received significant public funding in previous years." It was given NZ$36M by the government for the '13 regatta in San Francisco. It also received NZ$5M in "bridging finance to retain key team members after losing the Cup match to Oracle while a decision was made on whether to mount a challenge for the next event." But Team NZ said that it was "important to note" that the funding revealed on Thursday was not going toward the team. Team NZ said in a statement, "The NZ$100 million America's Cup support package announced in the budget today is the government investment in the development of the infrastructure and the running of the America's Cup and associated events themselves" (STUFF, 5/18).
