New Zealand Sevens tournament moved from Wellington to Hamilton
Monday 22 May 2017 10:42, UK
The New Zealand stop on the men's world sevens circuit will move from Wellington to Hamilton next season.
After being one of the more popular events on the world circuit and on New Zealand's sporting calendar, the Wellington tournament had stagnated in recent years and struggled with poor ticket sales.
Tickets previously sold out within minutes but a clampdown on unruly behaviour by police, local authorities and stadium officials saw its popularity plummet.
This year's event sold less than 15,000 tickets for the 34,500 capacity Wellington Regional Stadium.
It posted only its second loss in 18 years and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said several other cities had expressed an interest hosting it for the remaining two years of the licence granted by World Rugby.
"Hamilton and the Waikato region are rugby mad," NZR chief strategy and operations officer Nigel Cass said.
"We're looking forward to introducing international sevens to the local community and for visiting fans from around New Zealand to experience the heart of rugby in New Zealand.
"We are confident our partners in Hamilton will deliver an exceptional tournament that fans will love."
The tournament will be held on February 3-4 next year, a week after the Sydney tournament, and is the fourth stop on the world sevens circuit.
2017/18 Rugby Sevens Series schedule:
December 1-2: Dubai
December 9-10: Cape Town
January 26-28: Sydney
February 3-4: Hamilton
March 2-4: Las Vegas
March 10-11: Vancouver
April 6-8: Hong Kong
April 28-29: Singapore
May 26-27: Paris
June 2-3: London
The Sevens Rugby World Cup will be played in San Francisco on July 20-22, 2018.
