Marine firm fears removal for America's Cup village

One of the country's biggest marine manufacturers says its future in New Zealand could be in doubt if a waterfront site it uses, is lost to accommodate an America's Cup Village in Auckland. Southern Spars employs more than 300 people, but the site it uses to service superyachts has been suggested as a team base, in at least one village proposal. The so-called Site 18 had been rejected last year by Auckland officials because of its value to the marine industry, but appears in plans promoted by a property company, and no final decisions have been made. The firm's chief executive Mark Hauser told RNZ Auckland correspondent Todd Niall there's no alternative location that allows the work on the biggest masts on the biggest boats.