Westpac Stadium CEO Shane Harmon believes the Wellington Sevens were "hung out to dry" after a change in the liquor laws, and the "party atmospheres of old will never come back," according to Katarina Williams of STUFF. Harmon said that the 2014 Sevens became a "poster child" for the enforcement of the Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act, which came into full effect in Dec. '13, and "made it an offence to have intoxicated people on any premises serving alcohol." He said, "I would go so far to say it is almost impossible for any venue to comply with that act, and I think it is unfortunate what happened in 2014. ... I do feel that the stadium and the Sevens was hung out to dry that year and the Sevens, unfortunately, became the poster child for [the act]." In '14, 20 arrests were made, 270 Sevens-goers were evicted, and Westpac Stadium was served with 156 breaches of the act. About 58,000 people attended the two days of the 2014 Sevens. Over the past weekend, "official numbers were down to 20,000, but may have been fewer -- and all but one bar at the stadium was selling light beer." Harmon said that the "difficulties around alcohol management were not confined" to the Sevens. He said, "This is the new environment we're in, and it's not just Sevens -- this is every event around the country. This is Toast Martinborough, this is the races, this is the [Auckland rugby league] Nines" (STUFF, 1/31).
