"Choosing Barcelona has been the best decision I have made"

When asked about nerves, Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton says they only have to worry about winning the final. His team, in charge of organizing this year's America's Cup after winning the previous one, faces the possibility of taking home the historic trophy for the third time, and they will do so in Barcelona waters. It was here that the New Zealand sportsman and businessman chose to settle two years ago, an opportunity that the city's administrations took to revive the Olympic spirit, even if it was a competition little, or not at all, known among locals.

Dalton (Auckland, 1957) has dedicated his entire life to sailing, starting to sail at just eight years old. In the process of selecting a new venue for the regatta, he thought of the 1992 Olympic Games, not only because of how the Catalan capital shone, but also because that was the best year for New Zealand sailing, which won four medals. His first time in Barcelona was more than twenty years ago, with The Race, known as the Millennium Race, a competition that started from the city to go around the world, ending in Marseille. That time his team was the one that finished first, after completing the route in 62 days.

--- Are you ready to go for your third America's Cup?

--- You never know what the outcome will be. It won't be easy, that's for sure. No team has ever won the America's Cup three times in a row. The Americans held the 100-guinea ewer for 132 years and they did it under the same yacht club, but it was always with a different team. So no team has been able to win it three consecutive times. Only two teams have tried to win it three times recently. The Swiss Alinghi and the American Oracle, which was defeated by us.

--- Why?

--- There are many reasons for that. One of them is that, after several years, teams can become a bit complacent, they lose their hunger, they stop innovating... They become less prepared to take risks. It's understandable because, when you don't have the trophy, you take risks to win it. That's why we have learned from all this and we don't see ourselves as the defender of the America's Cup, but rather we say that we want to win it.

--- Does Barcelona help?

--- When I look back two years, when we first came here, I have no doubt that choosing Barcelona was the right decision. The City Council, the Generalitat, the Government, and the port have done everything we needed to organize the best possible event. So I have no regrets at all. Quite the opposite. It has probably been the best decision I have ever made.

--- Less than a month before everything starts, how are things looking?

--- The competition will be ready, as will the infrastructure. This means the new Port Olímpic, but also all the work done by the port, which is about to finish. And the lower part of La Rambla is also finished for the America's Cup, so everything suggests it will be a brilliant event.

--- Does all this make it easier for the regatta to repeat in Barcelona in a new edition?

--- The truth is, yes. All the teams are very happy here. It's an easy place to live. Healthcare is probably the best I've seen anywhere in the world. Education is excellent. It's an iconic city. All the ingredients are there. However, I believe Barcelona will face competition from other cities because they have seen what can be done and the success that has been achieved. There will be a process, but, without a doubt, Barcelona will start in pole position, in the number 1 spot.

--- How has it been to secure funding here?

--- Funding has been easier—it's never easy—but it has been easier to secure since we moved to Spain and Europe. With the television time zone, for example, it now reaches a massive viewer base.

--- What would you say to those who protest against the regatta being held in Barcelona?

--- There have been small protests, but they have been varied, so I don't think it's correct to say that they are directly against the America's Cup. They are against overtourism, capitalism, Formula 1, the Mobile World Congress... That is, I think we are just next. People have every right to have their opinion and to protest. My limit is crossed when they cause damage, intentional damage, and this has happened. That's where I think it goes too far, and we have had vandalism on superyachts, in our store, and on a clock with a countdown to the regatta that we put up with Cupra on the beach. This is already too much. It is deliberate and done by people who do not respect the property of others.

--- It is also criticized that the America's Cup will further strain a city with too much tourism.

--- Personally, I understand the protests against tourism that only comes for four hours, stresses the infrastructure, increases the price of apartments in the city center, and then simply leaves. I see it clearly now that I live here and I sympathize with those who protest, but I don't think I'll end up grabbing a banner and demonstrating in the street. The difference with the America's Cup tourist is that they don't stay for four hours or spend the night. They come for eight or ten days to see part of the competition. They may even leave Barcelona and visit other parts of Spain and Catalonia, try their wine and gastronomy. Therefore, they do not exert the same pressure on space. It is clear that they are tourists and that, if you are against any tourist coming to the city, you will never win that discussion. But they do provide a quite different profile.

"People have every right to protest. My limit is crossed when they cause damage, intentional damage. That's where I think it goes too far. It is deliberate and done by people who do not respect the property of others"

--- Some of the legacies would have ended up happening anyway, but the America's Cup has accelerated them. The Port Olímpic had to be revitalized, but our arrival, and this happens everywhere we go, has made it already finished. Otherwise, it would have taken years. Our contribution is that city projects, particularly on the coast, get started faster. I also believe that another legacy will be that the city will turn towards the sea. Before the Olympic Games, it didn't, and that was due to pollution. Imagine, one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean! The Olympics changed that, and now we hope the America's Cup brings people back to the water, to the sea.

--- What's good about Barcelona's beaches?

--- One of the great things about Barcelona, not even in Auckland, is the proximity of the racecourse to the beaches. The water is very deep very close to the beach and, in addition, the predominant wind blows towards the coast. Which allows us to bring the boats very close while sailing, making them more visible to people. The beach is our stadium. The truth is, when I evaluated Barcelona as a venue, this was a great surprise.

--- How many people do you expect?

--- I think what we can put on the table is what happened in Valencia, where two million more visitors were registered.

--- Would it be possible to have a Spanish team for the next edition?

--- Here I have to say that Spain's most successful Olympic sport is sailing, and few are aware of it. There is a very strong culture, small but very strong. A few weeks ago, the Spanish national team won the prestigious SailGP regatta. In fact, they beat my team. This is the level there is. In that sense, for there to be a Spanish team in the America's Cup, there has to be a person who steps forward and says, I'm going to organize this. If someone does, then Emirates Team New Zealand will back them. You have to consider that it's quite difficult to start from scratch. It's like trying to create a Formula 1 team out of nothing. You need the help of another team. If the America's Cup stays in Spain, in Catalonia, in Barcelona, and that person steps forward, they can count on the support of my team.

"I believe we can expect something similar here to what happened in Valencia, where two million more visitors were registered with the celebration of the America's Cup"

--- It is being talked about, but not directly with us. I also have to say that, if we don't win, all these bets will be canceled, so the key now is to focus on finishing first.

--- Anything else that the regatta will leave in the city?

--- For me, the most interesting thing is the growth of youth sailing and we have seen it when we traveled along the Catalan coast with the trophy. If I had to choose a legacy, it would be that we hope to leave an interest in the sport so that children are not in their rooms playing video games but in the water, on the beach, in a yacht club.

--- Precisely, your first memory with the America's Cup is from when you were very young.

--- When I was 10 years old, at school, we were forced to give a speech in front of the whole class. You know, it's your first speech and you're very nervous. I did it about the America's Cup and, even today, many, many years later, I can still remember almost the entire text because I learned it by heart. That was my first contact with the competition.

--- Why the America's Cup?

--- Because my love for sailing, even when I was 10 years old, was already very strong. In addition, the America's Cup represented the pinnacle of this sport back then and still does. I chose the America's Cup for that speech because, without realizing it, it was what I aspired to in my sailing. Not in a million years could I have suspected that, much later, I would have won it twice.