Auckland has been scrapped as a co-host for the qualifying rounds of the next America's Cup, putting Team New Zealand's government funding support in grave doubt.
A short statement on the official America's Cup website said competitors had agreed all racing ahead of the 2017 regatta should take place at the host venue of Bermuda.
Prime Minister John Key said government funding was now "very unlikely" as it was hard to justify supporting a Team New Zealand campaign held entirely in Bermuda.
The government contributed $NZ5 million ($A4.91 million) to the syndicate to help it retain key staff in the wake of its heartbreaking defeat to holders Oracle on San Francisco Bay in 2013.
The government contributed $NZ36 ($A35.4)m to that campaign and Team NZ had been seeking a similar amount to mount a challenge in 2017. It has said it would be difficult to mount a challenge without government support.
But Mr Key said the move to host all the qualifying series in Bermuda would provide the country with few leveraging opportunities.
"I think it (government funding) is very unlikely - I think we're at the end of the road," he told TV3 on Monday.
"Unless there's an economic payback for New Zealand, it's hard to justify more money and, with the event being held 100 per cent in Bermuda, by the looks of things, that becomes a really challenging issue to go beyond the $5m we've already put in."
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce would continue to have talks with Team NZ boss Grant Dalton, he said.
Organisers of the America's Cup said teams would compete in a double round-robin format for the qualifiers in a new class - a foiling catamaran.
The top four teams from the qualifiers will then advance to the challenger playoffs which consist of a match racing semi-final and finals with the winner meeting Oracle.
Team NZ had previously filed an application to the America's Cup arbitration panel to reinstate Auckland as the host of the qualifiers, but the announcement from organisers appears to rule it out.
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