Team NZ review their double victory on day seven of America's Cup racing in Bermuda.

Sir Russell Coutts doesn't believe Auckland could host another one-off America's Cup.

The Kiwi, who is chief executive of the America's Cup Event Authority and is a key figure in the front office of defenders Oracle Team USA, believes there isn't the commercial capabilities for teams and their sponsors to operate a regatta in Auckland under the old format.

"An event in Auckland alone wouldn't work these days, both commercially for the teams and commercially for the sponsors," Coutts, a divisive figure in New Zealand, told The Times.

REUTERS Sir Russell Coutts is defending his development of the America's Cup system as Team New Zealand eye a return to tradition if they succeed in Bermuda.

Team New Zealand are rapidly emerging as a top challenger and a team that could beat Oracle in the 35th Cup being sailed in Bermuda.

Their form has rival syndicates and Cup bosses worried in more ways than one.

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EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND Team New Zealand's building form in Bermuda will have their rivals worried in more ways than one.

The Kiwis are operating out of sync with the five other syndicates on several key issues – they haven't signed on for the plans agreed by their rivals to continue under the current format and also to have the cup sailed every two years.

Team New Zealand want a more traditional Cup and, if they win in Bermuda, are likely to revert to some of the historical rulings that have built the intrigue around sport's oldest trophy.

They have maintained a strong relationship with Italian syndicate Luna Rossa who sat out this cycle of the cup in frustration at the constant rule changes.

The Italians would likely be signed on as the challenger of record if Team New Zealand were to be triumphant and they would plot the way forward.

Coutts said big gains have been made that now require a more global approach.

"It is hard to promote just a one-off event. The Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series created a tremendous amount of value for all of the stakeholders, teams, sponsors, venues and media partners. We more than doubled our viewership compared to the previous edition of the America's Cup. We are on track to vastly increase our viewership to the end of these finals."





The world series has been sailed over the last two years in one-off design catamarans and had the points system influence the first phase of round-robin racing that wraps up in Bermuda on Sunday.

Coutts, who defended the Cup in Auckland with Team New Zealand in 2000 and returned three years later to claim it with Swiss outfit Alinghi, says he has no idea of New Zealand's plans if they win.

But Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton gave a hint of that in the leadup to Bermuda when he told The New York Times: "The extra kind of added incentive now is that if we don't win, the Cup is doomed in the New York Yacht Club kind of terms, which we believe in. It's doomed to be just another dirty little regatta."







The framework that exists now has the teams looking to expand the world series between America's Cups and have some continuity around design basics, hoping to keep costs manageable.

The teams replaced the challenger of record by expanding to a majority rule situation amongst themselves, with Team New Zealand regularly outnumbered on their points of difference.

Team New Zealand controversially lost a chance to host a qualifying regatta in the leadup to Bermuda, a move that cost them the chance of major government financial backing and placed a real question mark over this campaign before they managed to attain private sponsorship.

Clearly, the future of the Cup is on the line on Bermuda's Great Sound.

