Has the Wellington Sevens tournament drunk itself to death, or is the event just coming to the end of a natural life cycle?
Whatever the reason, this weekend will be the last time the World Rugby Sevens circuit stops in the capital.
The capital's sports fans are tired of it, and a week out only 12,000 tickets have been sold.
Indications are there'll be an embarrassingly high number of yellow seats on show when the action starts on Saturday. Just like a Phoenix match really.
But then was the Sevens ever a real sports event or just an excuse for a booze-up?
The so called golden era when the entire two day event sold out within minutes was never really about people wanting to watch the on field action.
“This year's ticket sales are verging on the disastrous.
It was about dressing up in some dinky costume and getting as drunk as possible as quickly as possible.
The tickets might have been sold out, but the empty seats in the TV coverage suggested many didn't even make into the stadium itself because they were getting plastered on the concourse out the back.
Those that survived the tournament itself went off to create a bit more havoc in town.
Reports from those years make for, if you'll excuse the pun, sobering reading.
In 2011, there were 16 arrests and 76 evictions at the stadium as well 61 arrests in the city after the tournament.
Acting Inspector Scott Miller of Wellington Police said there were "a large number of intoxicated men and women within the Courtenay Place party zone".
In 2012 police reported drunken incidents were down "but more than 100 people were arrested". Sixty-eight were thrown out of the stadium over two days.
Police noted a "higher standard of behaviour than in previous tournaments" at the 2013 event.
But at the stadium they still arrested 12, threw out 47 and nabbed another 55 at the street party afterwards!
The novelty was wearing off by 2014. That was the first year the tournament didn't sell out, but it sounds like those who were there made up for absent friends.
Two hundred and seventy were evicted from the stadium and police reported "a high level of intoxication".
A fan named Jacqueline Roper said "I honestly don’t think I'll come back. If you want to go to watch the sevens, go to another tournament."
The inevitable slide to extinction was well underway last year.
Only 18,000 showed up on Friday and 20,000 on Saturday. But stricter drinking rules and a lower tolerance for drunkenness meant stadium evictions were down to 156 over two days.
“Its major selling point somehow has to be the sport itself, and not the party goes with it
This year's ticket sales are verging on the disastrous. Even worse, corporate interest is rated at almost zero.
A caller on talkback radio the other night reckoned the main reasons the Sevens has lost its appeal is because you can’t drink as much anymore and because New Zealand Rugby want fans to focus on the game.
He said because of that the event has become boring!
Any sports event that relies on drunkenness for mass appeal has no future.
2016 is the final year of the deal to have the Sevens in Wellington. No official decision has been made but it won't be back.
New Zealand Rugby is confirmed as a stop on the Sevens World Series circuit till 2019 so a new host city has to be found for the next three years.
Dunedin has been mentioned. The time of the year would have to change though. That place is pretty dead in summer till the university year starts again.
But is shifting the Sevens to a city with a famous student booze culture really a progressive step?
With Sevens now having Olympic status, its major selling point somehow has to be the sport itself, and not the party goes with it.
If New Zealand is to maintain a stop in the World Series, the focus has to move from a drinking culture to a smaller venue and the development of the mythical "family" atmosphere.
Queenstown and Rotorua have successfully hosted the National Sevens without the problems caused by excessive drinking.
One of those tourist meccas should be the town for the next World Series Sevens stop in New Zealand.
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