The head of the Marine Industry Association said the America's Cup infrastructure won't leave much of a legacy.

Peter Busfield said it's a 'little bit of a shame' that the infrastructure's so small, and almost the bare minimum needed to host the Cup.

Auckland Council decided on the Wynyard Basin option, which Team New Zealand were talked around into supporting.

Mr Busfield said the legacy left by the 2021 headquarters will be far less than that of Auckland's Viaduct created ahead of the 2000 America's Cup defence.

"The government and the Council are very afraid of anti-public sentiment of not spending too much money on this event so they are really doing the cautious option of doing just enough."

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