Early days for world cup licences

One bar in Rotorua has applied to show early morning Rugby World Cup matches so far.

Only one bar in Rotorua has so far applied to show early morning Rugby World Cup matches, but council staff are confident the requirements and costs of special licences won't put venues off.

Many of the games at this year's World Cup in England will be on during the early hours in New Zealand, including the All Blacks' opening match against Argentina, which kicks off at 3.45am New Zealand time on September 20.

Under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, venues wishing to screen matches outside the hours of 8am to 4am require a special licence from their local licensing board.

In Rotorua, special licence requirements for showing World Cup matches include the pre-sale of all tickets, a cooked meal included in the ticket price, and all customers leaving the premises within 30 minutes of the final whistle.

A Rotorua Lakes Council memo to city premises dated June 30 also outlined "tentative" costs for the licences, ranging from $63.25 to $575 depending on the number of matches being shown and the number of people expected to attend.

As of yesterday, only one venue - Hennessy's Irish Bar - had applied for a special licence.

Neven Hill, the council's compliance solutions manager, said it was still "early days".

"Our view is that making reasonable provisions for our community, and our visitors to town, to gather in licensed premises to watch Rugby World Cup matches adds vibrancy to our city, while also ensuring that the risks of excessive or inappropriate alcohol consumption can be minimised," said Mr Hill.

"We've already received one application and so far we've had indications that at least five more premises intend applying."

He said a venue could apply for a licence up to 20 working days before any match.

Sky TV has the New Zealand broadcasting rights for all 48 World Cup matches.

For those without Sky Sports, Prime will offer free-to-air delayed coverage of all the All Blacks' pool matches, as well as live coverage of the later stages.

Brian Baker, manager and secretary of the Rotorua Commercial Travellers' Club, said the club would be "playing by ear" its coverage, although he doubted how much demand there would be in the initial stages.

"Nobody's going to get out of bed at 3am to watch the All Blacks play Argentina," he said.

However, he did offer one solution: "We can open up any time we like, as long as we don't sell alcohol."

Special Licence requirements

* Premises must be closed before the start of the special licence
* Entry by pre-sold tickets only
* Ticket price must include a cooked breakfast or cooked meal
* Special licence starts 30 minutes prior to kick off and ends 30 minutes after final whistle
* Premises must be empty 30 minutes after final whistle
* No alcohol service after final whistle
* Gaming machines turned off (TAB okay)
* Named certificated manager must be walking the floor and not behind the bar serving alcohol
* Security at each entrance could be required where applicable.