"To stop people smuggling in alcohol", I explained. So when we got inside and they asked me why there were stands selling alcohol - it was difficult to explain or even understand these double standards.
Kiwi culture is so entrenched in an association of alcohol and fun that any attempt to divorce the two is met with scorn and opposition.
Those who protested against an alcohol licence at the recent Christmas in the Park were shot down as grinches. The protesters argued that it was promoted as a family event and that families might be put off coming for fear of drunken crowds. The organisers fought for the licence to serve alcohol. Those in support of the licence said that it was an event for all, and that children could - and should - be exposed to adults drinking responsibly. In the end, the event was well organised and passed without a hitch. But if there had been trouble, it would be down to police and emergency services to clean up the mess.
Which is why I support the police coming out on Christmas Eve to pour water on a proposed plan for BYO alcohol at one-day cricket fixtures in Mount Maunganui this summer.
The BYO trial proposed for the Northern Knights' two upcoming Ford Trophy fixtures at Mt Maunganui's Bay Oval was over before it started. Earlier in the week, acting on initial advice from law enforcement authorities that the option of BYO was available and legal, Northern Districts announced their plan to boost dwindling crowd attendances by the BYO alcohol trial.
Northern Districts' chief executive Peter Roach said that the initiative had gained considerable public support, and had been in response to its consumers saying that live sport could be costly.
I consulted a cricket fan who agreed with this wholeheartedly. He told me that even though alcohol was sold inside the venue, it was much more expensive than bringing your own, meaning that a day out at the cricket for him and his mates would amount to hundreds of dollars. He said that because of this they stayed away, but he had been delighted at the prospect of a trial allowing up to 12 cans or plastic bottles each. He told me that this would have meant he and his friends would have definitely gone to the cricket.
If more people felt like this cricket fan I spoke to, then Peter Roach's plan of getting more bums on seats by the BYO trial would have undoubtedly worked.
At what cost? Bums on seats they may be. But bums full of 12 cans of beer each would not be my idea of fun.
Another cricket fan I spoke to presented a different picture of why the BYO trial could have worked. He said it could make it a more affordable day out for families, telling me it could be a "family occasion with friends, sun umbrella, bottle of wine, couple of beers, picnic lunch, kids playing cricket in the background, girls watching the boys, walking around the oval, catching up with friends on the embankment ... "
This latter vision ties in with how Christmas in the Park panned out, and also how the successful Thursday night Dinner in the Domain in Papamoa is working out. Dinner in the Domain also serves alcohol in a supervised area, and is popular with families and other groups alike, and has to date enjoyed no trouble at all.
But to me there is a big difference between these two music and food events, and the cricket. The difference is that cricket is a sport.
Isn't it ironic that sport - something that promotes such healthy aspects of life as fitness, teamwork and physical and mental wellbeing - has such a strong association with alcohol. So strong that Bay cricket organisers think the way to entice people to watch it is to let them soak up the drinks.
That you might have to be drunk to enjoy cricket I could well believe.
But seriously, in my view, going back to the '80s and '90s when some people were completely plastered at the cricket would have been a bad move. I think we should be doing more to disassociate sport and alcohol, not encourage it.
The good news is that some other parts of the plan to attract more people to the cricket are still in play - such as letting people bring their umbrellas for shade, food, and non-alcoholic drinks of any quantities.
These measures, as well as keeping ticket prices low and putting on extra attractions could all attract more people to watch sport.
Watching live sport together as a community rather than in front of the television is something that we should cherish and support. It is certainly worth investigating more ways to attract the crowds - but not with the bait of booze.