It is fourteen months since the dramatic conclusion to the 34th America’s Cup and we finally have an America’s Cup World Series venue... in Bermuda. Another will follow shortly and then either San Diego or Bermuda will be announced as hosts for the 35th edition of the America’s Cup. Sadly, this 14-month post-Match information vacuum has become typical of the modern America’s Cup.
The lack of information (read visib...ility) is not what sponsors want. In the past (say 32nd AC), sponsors would value their contribution primarily on the visibility during ‘Cup Year’, with less than a third attributed to the combined three previous years. Due to team cashflow needs, sponsors would generally agree to even out their sponsorship payments over the entire cycle.
For increased sponsorship, sponsors made it clear: increase the visibility. The America’s Cup World Series was an attempt to achieve this and was met with a generally favourable response from sponsors, teams and host cities. Sure, initial attempts to extract large venue fees were resisted by host cities, but over time a model was developed that delivered a cost neutral World Series event for ACEA. The model recognised that politically, host cities were reluctant to pay large venue fees but were more than happy to spend similar amounts on facilities and services that until then ACEA had been funding.
In summary, by the final America’s Cup World Series event in Naples, a virtuous circle had been formed: self funding events led to more visibility led to more sponsorship dollars for teams, etc, etc. What was missing was a central body to manage the America’s Cup World Series into the future, one that was not a subsidiary or solely under the influence of the Defender.
It is not generally known is that such a central body had been discussed and was a potential outcome of the World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) established to organise and manage the Louis Vuitton Trophy of 2009 and 2010 (i.e. a series of events around the globe that built on the successful Louis Vuitton Pacific Series held in Auckland). Importantly, the WSTA was owned equally by all participating teams, teams equally funded it to the tune of €1m each (most of which was refunded following the final event), it was incorporated in Luxenburg, had a Board consisting of participating teams and an independent management structure.
With the 35th America’s Cup teams committing to an America’s Cup World Series in 2018, it seems the missing piece is the organisation to run it no matter who wins the Match. An organisation such as the WSTA would solve this issue and ensure momentum was maintained until the venue, boats and dates of the next America’s Cup are announced.
The lack of information (read visib...ility) is not what sponsors want. In the past (say 32nd AC), sponsors would value their contribution primarily on the visibility during ‘Cup Year’, with less than a third attributed to the combined three previous years. Due to team cashflow needs, sponsors would generally agree to even out their sponsorship payments over the entire cycle.
For increased sponsorship, sponsors made it clear: increase the visibility. The America’s Cup World Series was an attempt to achieve this and was met with a generally favourable response from sponsors, teams and host cities. Sure, initial attempts to extract large venue fees were resisted by host cities, but over time a model was developed that delivered a cost neutral World Series event for ACEA. The model recognised that politically, host cities were reluctant to pay large venue fees but were more than happy to spend similar amounts on facilities and services that until then ACEA had been funding.
In summary, by the final America’s Cup World Series event in Naples, a virtuous circle had been formed: self funding events led to more visibility led to more sponsorship dollars for teams, etc, etc. What was missing was a central body to manage the America’s Cup World Series into the future, one that was not a subsidiary or solely under the influence of the Defender.
It is not generally known is that such a central body had been discussed and was a potential outcome of the World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) established to organise and manage the Louis Vuitton Trophy of 2009 and 2010 (i.e. a series of events around the globe that built on the successful Louis Vuitton Pacific Series held in Auckland). Importantly, the WSTA was owned equally by all participating teams, teams equally funded it to the tune of €1m each (most of which was refunded following the final event), it was incorporated in Luxenburg, had a Board consisting of participating teams and an independent management structure.
With the 35th America’s Cup teams committing to an America’s Cup World Series in 2018, it seems the missing piece is the organisation to run it no matter who wins the Match. An organisation such as the WSTA would solve this issue and ensure momentum was maintained until the venue, boats and dates of the next America’s Cup are announced.
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