Sailing-America's Cup enters new era with post-Bermuda team deal

* America's Cup teams strike "framework agreement"

* Emirates Team New Zealand has not yet signed up

* America's Cup will be on a two-yearly cycle

* Plan is for 2019, 2021 events after Bermuda in 2017

By Alexander Smith

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - America's Cup teams have agreed a new framework for sport's oldest trophy which aims to make it easier to meet the multi-million dollar costs of hi-tech boats, raise sponsorship and give clarity for sailors, fans and broadcasters.

Although five of the six competitors in the 35th America's Cup in Bermuda in May and June have signed up to the plan for subsequent events, Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ), have not.

ETNZ skipper Glenn Ashby expressed misgivings in July about signing up to what was then still just a proposal, saying the team was concerned about the restrictions it could impose.

"We remain optimistic that they (ETNZ) will come on board in the future and it is clear that cooperation is better for all of the stakeholders in the America's Cup," Martin Whitmarsh, CEO of Land Rover BAR, said in a statement on Wednesday.

A shift to super-fast "foiling" catamarans has transformed the America's Cup, which was last won by Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA in a dramatic head-to head finale with ETNZ in San Francisco Bay in 2013.

"It's high octane, seat of the pants racing with plenty of action and plenty of drama. It can be very unpredictable but it's a true test of machines, technology and people and the racing now is a hell of a lot better than it's ever been before," Dean Barker, skipper of SoftBank Team Japan, said.

The agreement signed by defender Oracle Team USA, Artemis Racing, Team France, Land Rover BAR and SoftBank Team Japan and their respective yacht clubs marks a major shift for the "Auld Mug", which is governed by a Deed of Gift.

"For the first time in more than 165 years, the teams have got together for the benefit of not only themselves but for the America's Cup," said Russell Coutts, a five-time America's Cup winner who now leads the organisation that runs the event.

REDUCE COSTS

The new framework will determine the format of the next two America's Cup cycles, its protocols and its class rules.

Until now the winning yacht club and its team have become the event's trustees, responsible for outlining the terms of the next edition. This had often ended in long pauses and resulted in lengthy and costly legal battles.

"There is now a clear plan in place that confirms the format for the competition using existing boats and equipment as much as possible to reduce costs," Jimmy Spithill, Oracle Team USA's skipper, said.

The target cost to field a competitive new team would now be $30 million to $40 million, which would represent a "significant reduction" from existing budgets, Whitmarsh added.

Land Rover BAR, which was set up by Britain's Ben Ainslie, has spent more than 80 million pounds ($101 million), setting up a team and base in Portsmouth.

($1 = 0.7955 pounds)

(Editing by Ken Ferris)