Tickets to the inaugural New Zealand Sail Grand Prix will go on sale on Tuesday.
Lyttelton Harbour will host the New Zealand leg of the international competition on March 18 and 19, with the course bringing the 50-foot foiling catamarans within metres of the shoreline at Naval Point.
Sailing Olympic gold medallists Peter Burling and Blair Tuke competed in a friendly waka race on the Ōtākaro Avon River, led by Ko Tāne, on Saturday, and said they were “pumped” to bring SailGP to New Zealand.
“We’ve been racing for a year and a half now representing Aotearoa on the world stage but to bring SailGP to home shores is something we’re super excited about,” Tuke said.
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ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff
The NZ SailGP team – Louis Sinclair, left, Blair Tuke and Peter Burling – were in Christchurch on the weekend to promote SailGP.
Burling and Tuke are fresh off the back of the European leg of the SailGP championship, which saw the Kiwis achieve back-to-back wins in Plymouth and Copenhagen.
Tickets to the event in Lyttelton will go on sale to the public on Tuesday at 9am, via Ticketek with prices starting from $76.50.
Tickets are limited, with fewer than 5000 Fan Village tickets across the weekend. Platinum Lawn and Shoreline Villas tickets sold out in pre-sales.
The Fan Village will offer grandstand viewing just metres from the shore along the final stretch of the racecourse.
SAILGP/Stuff
The Christchurch course for SailGP will stretch between Lyttelton and Diamond Harbour, with a ticketed fan village in Lyttelton.
SailGP event director Karl Budge said the Fan Village would try to replicate what could be seen out on the water.
“The atmosphere will be all about creating excitement, delivering unique experiences and equally – taking the opportunity to redefine what New Zealanders think they know about sailing.”
For non-ticket holders, it would be possible to watch from natural vantages on the hills around Lyttelton, and across the water in Diamond Harbour.
Traffic management measures would be in place to avoid congestion in these spots.
There would also be a free fan zone-style site on the grassy area in front of Te Pae, in the central city, offering big screen viewing of live race coverage on both days.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff
Budge says the Fan Village will try to replicate what you see out on the water.
Lyttelton Harbour Business Association chair Vicki Tahau Paton, who is also running for community board in the local body elections, said the SailGP organisers had been brilliant and were respectful of the community.
“They’ve done a fabulous job. I’m very excited and looking forward to it.”
She worried though about Lyttelton being put on the world stage when the rest of the town was still not completely fixed from the earthquakes.
“We still show the scars of the earthquake.”
Robin Fey, who owns the Forty Two tapas bar and restaurant, believed SailGP was a big unknown.
Businesses might not see much benefit if people spent their money at food and drink outlets set up at the event, he said.
“But on the other hand, it might be that once the races are done for the day then everyone floods into town and totally slams all the restaurants.”
STACY SQUIRES/Stuff
Improvement work to prepare Naval Point for SailGP has been going on since November 2020. This picture was taken in mid-2021.
“There’s no guarantee on that, so I’m not holding my breath to be making millions.”
Previous estimates suggested a SailGP event could bring up to $28 million of economic benefits to the host nation, and have a TV audience of 50 million.
Christchurch was due to host a leg in January 2022, but the plan was scuppered by a Government refusal to grant managed isolation and quarantine spaces to sailors and support crew.
Access to Lyttelton over the event weekend would be restricted.
Fans attending the event would need to use the free shuttle bus service providing return transfers to the event from the central city, purchase one of the limited event car parks available, or use a taxi service.
Improvement work had been under way at Naval Point since a development plan for the area was signed off in November 2020. Work done to date included the sealing of a large section of the car park, rock revetment improvement and upgrading of utilities.
Further planned improvements included changes to the site’s main access road, Godley Quay, and a waterfront upgrade incorporating cultural elements.
“The upgrade includes creating a waterfront walkway area that will be painted with designs that Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke Rāpaki have developed to reflect the area’s history and value to mana whenua,’’ Christchurch City Council head of parks Andrew Rutledge said.
The improvements to Godley Quay would include a full upgrade of the road, including resurfacing, better lighting and utilities, and construction of a shared pedestrian and bicycle path on the western side of the road. Rutledge said this was planned to be completed before the SailGP event.
- Additional reporting by Steven Walton.
