October 11, 1999. Copyright, 1999, Graphic News. All rights reserved

AUCKLAND ABUZZ FOR GRAND REGATTA
By former New Zealand Herald journalist Margot Nesdale

LONDON, October 11, Graphic News: MONEY problems have sunk the Brits, the Chinese challenge has capsized, and the Russians seem unwilling to leave dry dock. But even without them the America's Cup in Auckland is going to be one of the grandest regattas in the event's 148-year history.
Eleven syndicates from eight nations are preparing to battle it out in the four-month long Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series, which begins on October 18. The aim of the gruelling match racing marathon is to find a team tough enough to prize the Auld Mug off the Black Magicians, Team New Zealand. The battle will be staged in the Hauraki Gulf, offshore from the first ever purpose-built Cup Village in the history of the race.
The $NZ80 million facility in Auckland's Viaduct Basin - which has a crowd capacity of 40,000 - includes 11 syndicate bases, a superyacht marina, yacht club, corporate chalets, restaurants, cafes, shops and daily entertainment. Cup maestro Dennis Conner (aka "Dirty Den") has opened a floating bar and "Stars and Stripes" shop in the village which houses all of the teams.
While security at the syndicate bases is tight, the village is designed to maximize public involvement in the race, said Sue Foley, a spokeswoman for America's Cup Village Ltd in Auckland.
"Sir Peter Blake (head of Team NZ syndicate) wanted to make it (the Cup) more than just a yacht race... he wanted a village that brought syndicates together and allowed the public to share in it as well" she said.
The Cup has fascinated people in the past largely because of the personalities, political wrangles, dirty tactics and court battles behind it, but it goes without saying that for the uninitiated, the strange sparring at sea between yachts is all rather dull. In the Louis Vuitton Cup the teams will race each other three times in three Round Robins. The six highest-scoring yachts will go through to the semi-final, where they will race each other twice. The two top scorers go through to the finals, a best-of-nine series to determine who will take on the defenders for the AmericaÕs Cup; the ultimate challenge, a lethal best-of-nine match beginning on February 19, 2000.  The regatta will involve more than 2,000 competitors, attract an equal number of journalists and enjoy a global television audience of around 200 million people. The economic spin-off from hosting the Cup has been put at up to $600 million for Auckland and $1.3 billion for the country as a whole.
This is the 30th AmericaÕs Cup challenge and only the second time the event has been defended outside the U.S. The first time was the regatta in Freemantle, Perth, in 1986, which attracted a record 13 challengers /ENDS.

Sources: www.americascup.org.nz, www.nzcupvillage.co.nz, America's Cup Village Ltd, The Road to America's Cup