Wellington 7s Event Goes Stale

The Wellington leg of the HSBC World Sevens Series kicks off on Saturday with the likelihood of poor attendance dominating media reports in the build-up to the two-day event. The sevens was once the hottest ticket in the New Zealand capital and tickets for both days at the 35,000-capacity Westpac Stadium sold out within minutes. But the party atmosphere that used to attract tens of thousands of fans in fancy dress has dissipated and organisers expect only 15,000 a day this year. Martin Snedden, the sports administrator in charge when New Zealand hosted the 2011 Rugby World Cup, has been quoted…