Organisers of the 2017 Wellington Sevens tournament are again struggling to sell tickets for the event which will be held later this month.

This is According to a report by Stuff.co saying that by mid‑December last year, 1300 tickets had been sold for a stadium with a capacity of 34,500.

The Wellington Sevens used to be so popular that the tickets would be gone in minutes when they went on sale.

According to Stuff.co, the biggest reason for the decline in ticket sales is that the Sevens used to be a two‑day costume/dress‑up party with plenty of alcohol being consumed.

But now, people feel it is too difficult to drink, or feel they cannot have fun at the event in case they upset someone.

Tickets for the two‑day event, which is being played at Westpac Stadium went on sale in September last year.

However, NZ Rugby has denied that the figure was that low.

Last year organisers tried to boost crowd numbers by offering cut‑price tickets and incentives for families to bring children. It also had the added draw card of All Blacks or Super Rugby players, who were preparing for the Olympics but they are unlikely to be playing this year.

In March last year, New Zealand Rugby won its fight to retain the right to host the Wellington 7s for three more years.

The Wellington 7s will be played on the 28th and 29th of this month and Fiji is pooled with South Africa, Australia and Japan.

Source: Stuff.co