(Reuters) – Defenders Team New Zealand and challenger of record Luna Rossa are considering the possibility of the 36th America’s Cup being staged in Auckland in 2021 and will release the protocol in September, the teams’ governing bodies have said.
Team New Zealand beat Oracle Team USA 7-1 in Bermuda last month and can now dictate the location, dates and type of boat to be used in their Cup defense.
“The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Circolo della Vela Sicilia … are pleased to announce that the Protocol establishing the parameters for the 36th America’s Cup will be released in September 2017,” they said in a statement.
“The Defender and the Challenger of Record are considering the possibility of the 36th America’s Cup Match and the preceding Challenger Selection Series being conducted in Auckland in early 2021 during the New Zealand summer.”
The protocol will include a “constructed in country” requirement for all competing yachts and will also have a nationality requirement for the crew members.
(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
