Team New Zealand's been offered NZ$80 million to hold the next America's Cup in Auckland, but won't accept it until they know exactly who the money has come from.
A consortium of multi-millionaires who want to keep the Cup here, say they can get a deal done in a month, if the holders of the Auld Mug come to the party.
Since defending the America's Cup earlier this year, the burning question for Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton has been where to find the money to ensure they win it again.
Rich-lister Mark Dunphy says he's already solved that, and they don't need to leave home to do it
"80 million is available. it will be committed - nothing that I can see will hold us back," Dunphy tells Newshub.
Sounds simple - but not so fast.
"There are different sources and contributors and I've been asked by Team New Zealand to disclose who the donors are - I can tell you donors, your secret is safe with me."
And that secret will be the thing that sinks the deal.
Team New Zealand says it will never accept money if it doesn't know exactly where it comes from.
"We've asked a number of basic questions," Dalton tells Newshub.
"What's the deal? What do you want for it? Who are the investors? From a straight governance point of view, we can't accept money until we know we can verify its sources - that's just as you would expect."
It comes after Dalton and crew rejected an Auckland Council and Government offer of NZ$99 million, reasoning it was not enough to successfully defend the cup.
So the team went offshore looking for venues to pay a hosting fee with Spain, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, the Isle of Wight, and more rumored to be interested.
After a worldwide search, it's reportedly got it down to three finalists.
Barcelona in Spain, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Cork in Ireland - thought to be the front-runner, until its government asked for more time.
So in swooped the Kiwi "Home Defence" consortium with an 11th-hour bid to top up the government's offer.
"I'm not hopeful, I'm certain," Dunphy says.
There are only two things certain in life are death and taxes… well this is a third."
But Dalton says that's far from the case and believes it's just a way for the other teams to try and unsettle the Kiwis, because they've run out of ideas on the water.
"We are culturally enormously strong," Dalton says. We are a fortress - it annoys our opposition something horrible that they can't break the fortress, and they try and replicate it, but no organisation to date has been able to."
When it comes to the America's Cup, money always talks.. but it seems only if you know where it's come from.
