CHANGE OF PACE: The sevens may find a new tone as a family event.

What was once the biggest party weekend on the capital's calendar could become more family-focused, as authorities pleased at the sevens' more sober atmosphere plot a change of face for the event.

Organisers will meet this week to take the pulse of the tournament that has long had a boozy reputation, and which this year struggled to fill seats.

In past years, Wellington Sevens tickets sold out in minutes, but this year the crowd peaked at 18,000 in the 34,500-capacity Westpac Stadium.

The stadium bars were ordered to close by 8pm and the outdoor music at Party Central Courtenay Place was switched off at midnight.

While some fans grumbled about the crackdown, authorities credited the tactics with fewer arrests and ejections.

The focus was shifting back to the rugby and that would attract a different crowd that organisers would foster in coming years, sevens general manager Steve Dunbar said. "We were happy, the players were very happy."

"There has been 15 years of carnival and excitement in the past and we have [catered to] a demographic, which wasn't all about the rugby, which worked for quite some time. But I think events need to change and evolve."

At the weekend the number of family zone seats had to be increased from 350 to 700. Next year Dunbar said he would like to see the number reach 5000.

To address low ticket sales, organisers could look at options such as changing the schedule to a Saturday and Sunday, dropping the Friday fixtures, or offering one-day tickets, he added.

Stadium chief executive Shane Harmon was "very optimistic" about filling more seats next year. "We will be leaving no stone unturned, there will be no sacred cows," he said.

With the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next year he was confident future Wellington Sevens would attract "superstar" players and the audience to match, now it was an Olympic sport.

Harmon also welcomed the greater numbers of families and the crowd's improved behaviour. "Broadening the event and opening it to a wider audience is something we'd look at doing better next year. Any event with alcohol at its heart and soul is going to struggle."

Organisers had to apply for a special alcohol licence, in consultation with police and health authorities after the venue's caterers admitted more than 100 liquor licence breaches at last year's Sevens.

Wellington police Inspector Terry van Dillen commended the crowd's behaviour, crediting organisers with running a trouble-free event this time. "We're really pleased with how it all went."

On the first day, nine people were arrested and 60 ejected from the stadium. Twenty two people were arrested and 96 ejected on Saturday.