Fans pose during the 2016 Wellington Sevens at Westpac Stadium on January 31, 2016 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
The Wellington sevens are going nowhere.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew has admitted ticket sales are still disappointing.
But in an interview with Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking, Tew indicated that NZR has given no consideration to moving the tournament out of the capital.
The world had moved on from the days when the sevens stadium involved a boozy party atmosphere, Tew said.
"We are now responsible for the behaviour of people...the stadium licence holder has serious legal responsibilities under new legislation that came in a couple of years ago," he said.
Tew was delighted with the the operation of the tournament, the standard of sevens, and the character shown by the New Zealand team. Olympic status had raised the quality of sevens around the world.
While there has been general speculation about moving the sevens to a new venue in an effort to recapture the glory days, Tew said NZR viewed the sevens as a long term partnership with Wellington.
"We didn't get enough people...we repositioned and re-priced it," he said.
"We'll sit down with our partners, the city, the stadium, world rugby and the police and review it very thoroughly. We didn't get enough people...(but)I wouldn't call it a disaster."
Even at age 38, the world No 55 is a huge drawcard for the Auckland tournament.