ETNZ and ACE settle dispute with NZ government department 22 December 2020
Media release issued by MBIE on December 22, 2020:
New Zealand s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE),the Defender of the America s Cup Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and America s Cup Event Limited (ACE), the body set up by ETNZ to run the events, have met today in a mediation setting to resolve issues regarding whether the creation of the Class Rule for the America’s Cup was an Event Cost under the Host Venue Agreement.
We regret the manner in which this issue has played out in the public arena and the detrimental reputational impact of the process on ETNZ and ACE, its directors and the teams.
Stuff. “I take my hat off to them, they have done a fantastic job,” he said. Nash’s comments came during a visit to the America’s Cup village on Auckland’s waterfront, but behind the scenes a bitter mediation process is underway between Team NZ and MBIE.
Not-For-Syndication
Grant Dalton is chief executive of the team and of its event company ACE. Team NZ claimed MBIE mishandled allegations made to it about how ACE and the team were managing government funding from MBIE, which has committed $40 million to event costs. MBIE received confidential information early in 2020 from a whistleblower, later identified as ACE event sub-contractor Mayo and Calder, and commissioned a forensic audit without telling ACE the grounds.