Fans will have to pay $130 more for a Hong Kong Sevens ticket next year as organisers face rising costs in running the event.
A ticket for the three-day tournament will now cost $880, a 17.3 per cent increase on the last Hong Kong Sevens in 2004, but down from the $1,000 for last year's World Cup Sevens sellout at the Hong Kong Stadium. Tickets for children aged 12 or under have risen from $250 to $300.
The increase is the first since 1998 and Allan Payne, executive director of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU), said the hike was mainly owing to increasing number of players and officials. 'The event costs more because more players are coming ... and we need to get more referees,' he said.
Payne said the number of players and officials on each team had grown from 12 to 15 since 2002 as the rise in international tournaments means larger squads.
'Another reason is because we bring in more long-haul teams. The cost for [bringing teams] from Russia, Europe and South Africa is more expensive,' he said, adding that hotels, flights and other costs had also gone up.
Payne was confident the increase would not affect ticket sales, as 'it's still good value'.
Hong Kong Sevens manager Beth Coalter said: 'We've tried to absorb the cost but it has been increasing since [2002].' She said the tournament - to be held from March 31 to April 2 next year - fitted perfectly into the world calendar as it is two weeks after the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the Six Nations Championship would have been completed.