The council's manager of alcohol licensing, Rob Abbott, said if bars and pubs wanted to screen games outside their licensing hours they would have to have a special licence to do so. This was nothing new, he said.
Mr Abbott said discussions with Hospitality New Zealand (Hanz) started in February.
It was mainly Hanz bars that would be affected, he said, and they would have to put on a special event to get the licence. "Having the TV on is not sufficient; that's just business as usual."
Mr Abbott said the options discussed with Hanz, which have been acceptable for the "past many years", included hosting a themed night, having people dress up, putting on a quiz or making specially themed food, or maybe a guest speaker talking at halftime.
"So there has to be an event actually on the premises, not over in England."
This would be the case for every game a bar wanted to screen outside normal hours, and was not the only condition, he said. The venue also had to show it had control over the people getting in.
Hanz chief executive Bruce Robertson said the industry was frustrated by the conditions Police want to put on special licences for the Rugby World Cup.
"Police are relying on an old precedent which pre dates the current Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.
"It is the view of Hospitality NZ that Parliament lowered the bar for special licences to allow events like Rugby World Cup to be special events in their own right and not require additional decorating, speakers and pre sold tickets."
Mr Robertson said the additional conditions were "pedantic and unnecessary" and did nothing to reduce alcohol harm.
Having a special licence in no way reduced the legal obligations on a bar owner with regard to intoxication or serving minors, he said.
"We do not believe Police are in any way obligated to oppose these licences unless they have the onerous and unnecessary conditions. They should be leaving it to the District Licensing committees to make a decision."
The District Licensing Committee (DLC) said last year that 50 per cent of people attending such an event had to be pre-sold a ticket.
That was how it stood right now, Mr Abbott said, but police had announced recently that they wanted 100 per cent of tickets pre-sold.
"So no one gets in without a ticket that they've bought previous to the occasion."
Police opposed the current DLC condition, and in response bars have opposed the new police policy.
A hearing to decide the matter will take place in the next couple of weeks and what the DLC decides will probably "set the tone", Mr Abbott said.
Venues with this special licence also had to close for an hour between normal hours finishing and a special event starting, to "clear it out" and get it set up before people are let back in.
Mr Abbott said the council would not oppose up to eight games, or eight events, outside the normal licensing hours.
If venues wanted to host more, they would have to apply to do so, he said.
"I understand there's going to be a bar that wants to apply for 16 events; now that's over to the District Licensing Committee whether they'll allow that."
He said, however, that the DLC had announced last year, for the Football World Cup, that just because the games were being held outside normal hours, there was no expectation that people could use it to keep trading 24/7.
All of these conditions might not be specific to Auckland either. "We've sent what we came out with back in February around to the other councils, just to let them know what we're doing and I understand they're doing essentially the same," Mr Abbott said.
The Labour Party's small business spokeswoman, Jacinda Ardern, said it would be ridiculous if bars had to take steps such as requiring everybody who walked in to have tickets.
"This is a test of new legislation and if it demonstrates common sense isn't being applied then we need to do something about that."
Ms Ardern said Auckland's hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2011 had shown the contribution such an event could make to the economy and fans should be able to enjoy it.
"This is about accommodating an event at the other end of the world. It's for a special event, not bars being frequently open at those hours."
What venues must do to comply with the law
Bars or pubs wanting to open for Rugby World Cup games outside normal licensing hours will have to apply for a special licence. To get one, they must do the following:
1. Host a special event at the premises
Options could include hosting a themed night, having patrons dress up, putting on a quiz, and making themed food.
2. Between normal closing time and the event, a venue has to close for an hour
This is to organise the bar before people are let back in.
3. Have control over who attends the event
For now, 50 per cent of people in the bar during an after-hours event would have to have bought a ticket beforehand. Police want to increase this to 100 per cent.
4. Up to eight games
Auckland Council has said it will not oppose bars applying for up to eight special licence events. Any more will be up to the District Licensing Committee to approve.
