SailGP boss Russell Coutts insists he has not slammed the door on Auckland as a future venue on the international circuit, despite the current impasse with local promoters.
In fact, the former Team NZ America's Cup hero tells Newshub he can foresee a day when New Zealand stages two regattas on the racing calendar.
Christchurch has been confirmed to stage next year's SailGP stopover, after the so-called 'City of Sails' was unable to satisfy inner-city spectator requirements.
Lyttelton Harbour proved a very capable venue in March, winning plaudits from visiting teams, so the infrastructure still exists, but Coutts is at pains not to burn bridges with the nation's biggest market.
"I think Auckland Unlimited and the various entities there worked really hard, in good collaboration with us, so no issue there," he said. "The fact of the matter is we push as hard as we could and as long as we could to find the right solution, but at the end of the day, we couldn't for next year.
"We wanted to be downtown, if we could, but we'll look at alternatives in the future. We're not giving up on it.
"With us improving our logistics with every event, I can foresee a two-event calendar in New Zealand."
Meanwhile, Coutts is happy to return to the South Island in the short term.
"Christchurch has proven to be one of our very best events to date - with fantastic racing, thousands of fans and spectacular scenery in a natural amphitheatre," he said.
After his dramatic win at the weekend's Dubai regatta, New Zealand skipper Peter Burling is also excited to have a home stopover confirmed.
"We had an awesome competition down there earlier this year," he said. "To see the way the NZ fans got behind the event was super exciting and made us incredibly proud.
"It's always special to race at home... last time was the best event we've had in SailGP to date.
"We're super excited to do it all over again."
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