There was poor turnout at both days of the Wellington Sevens at Westpac Stadium. Photo: Getty Images

Could Dunedin host the Sevens? Mayor Dave Cull said yesterday he was confident the city could do a good job with the event.

However, there were questions that would need to be considered if New Zealand Rugby made the decision to shift the tournament from Wellington.

Dave Cull

Only 20,000 people came through the gates across both days at the weekend's Wellington Sevens, a far cry from the days of tickets selling out within minutes.

NZ Rugby has said with those numbers the event is not sustainable in the capital city.

The Wellington Sevens has been an annual fixture on the world sevens series circuit since 2000.

While no decision has been made on the event's future, Mr Cull said it was worth considering should it become available.

"Obviously if the idea [of shifting the event] were proposed we would be very interested in considering it,'' he said.

"Everybody around the country knows that Dunedin puts on very good events.

"We've had some very good experience following on from the Rugby World Cup in 2011.

"We've got the best stadium in the country and we know the whole city gets behind it.

He noted that NZ Rugby had said the Sevens was not sustainable in Wellington, but he believed the question whether it was sustainable anywhere needed answering.

"Is it too tired? I think that's a valid question.''

Another question to ask would be about timing, he said.

"Clearly if we wanted to provide the best audience for the Sevens, if it came to Dunedin, we would want it to be at a time when the students were in town.''

Both Dunedin Venues Ltd and the University of Otago declined to comment when asked about the possibility of bringing the event to the city.

- Jeff Cheshire

jeff.cheshire@odt.co.nz