WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Team New Zealand said it will challenge for sailing’s America’s Cup off San Francisco in 2013 with the help of a $28 million handout from New Zealand taxpayers.
New Zealand was expected to join a record number of challengers at the 34th Cup regatta after paying the entry fee last month. However, team manager Grant Dalton said then that New Zealand’s participation would not be certain until it had the financial resources to ensure a competitive challenge.
Dalton said Thursday “we believe that we can mount a credible challenge which will have a very good chance of winning the America’s Cup.”
The America’s Cup will be defended in 2013 by the San Francisco-based Oracle team headed by New Zealander Russell Coutts.
