When the University of North Texas (UNT) announced recently that it would begin selling beer at Apogee Stadium this fall, school officials were armed with some carefully worded messages.
UNT President Neal Smatresk said in a statement, “At University of Nevada – Las Vegas, my experience was that selling beer helped to more carefully regulate alcohol consumption and encouraged more fans to watch the game in the stadium.”
UNT Athletic Director Rick Villarreal added: “In a market where we are in constant competition for the consumers’ entertainment dollar, we have to provide the amenities sport enthusiasts expect.”
Just below these messages was the more central reason for selling alcohol in stadiums — revenue.
In recent years, schools have had to balance the potential revenues with the risk from both a legal and moral perspective. The potential revenues are winning, since they offset the cost of training and insurance, according to one expert.
“The revenue from alcohol is definitely considerable,” said Jill Pepper of TEAM Coalition, a non-profit alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, and other groups with the common goal of promoting “responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports and entertainment facilities,” according to their website.
“Insurance and training are necessary, but they do not erase the revenue from alcohol,” Pepper said. “Irresponsible tailgating behavior can also lead to a lawsuit for the university and facility partners. Fewer reasonable efforts are in place in that scenario — where alcohol is not served. Fewer reasonable efforts equates to a greater risk of a large verdict against the institution.”
Pepper wouldn’t have any trouble convincing West Virginia University (WVU) and its athletic director, Oliver Luck, of the merits of selling alcohol, which WVU has done since 2011.
“Our incidence of bad behavior are down 25 to 30 percent since we started selling beer,” Luck recently told ESPN Radio. “Our tipping point was when our public safety officials said, ‘We think this is a good idea. It’s fine to sell beer. We can control that.’ College kids don’t spend $8 or $9 a beer. They just don’t have the money. So far, it has worked.”
And many others are joining the party.
One of them, which perhaps aided UNT in its decision, was neighboring Southern Methodist University (SMU), which started selling alcohol as a trial at Moody Coliseum, where their basketball team plays. The trial run was a success, leading SMU to announce plans to sell alcohol during the 2014 football season in Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
“There’s a revenue component to it, for sure,” SMU Athletic Director Rick Hart told USA Today. “But it was also part of the experience fans wanted. And we had zero alcohol-related arrests. We didn’t see a spike in any type of behavioral issues.”
Pepper isn’t surprised.
“There is evidence from various venues that when alcohol is available for purchase inside a venue, individuals — on average – do not consume as much alcohol in the parking lot before the event,” said Pepper. “Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado and the University of West Virginia are both examples of where this has happened.”
Pepper elaborated.
“Individuals who are passionate about their school, team, family and friends become caught up in the game day experience. Drinking alcohol either before or during the game may enhance that passion for some people. But violence is a personal decision. Ultimately I believe the excuse ‘the alcohol made me do it’ is just that, an excuse. There is no question that after drinking far too much alcohol, there is a greater chance that people will make very bad decisions.”
Is Selling Alcohol in Stadiums a Risk-Management Tool?
“By definition, serving alcohol brings significant potential risks to the facility manager and the concessionaire,” said Pepper. “Those risks should keep alcohol servers in line so that they limit how much alcohol each guest is allowed to purchase, check IDs, cut-off service to guests showing signs of impairment and enforce facility alcohol and conduct policies. Those reasonable efforts prevent — if not minimize – instances of drinking far too much.”
Will other schools from the power conferences chime in?
The University of Texas, part of the Big 12 Conference with West Virginia, seemed destined to open up all of Darrel K. Royal Stadium to alcohol this fall, even experimenting with alcohol sales at other venues. University of Texas President Bill Powers told the Austin American-Statesman the while the school would receive “marginal revenue,” the decision to sell alcohol was more about enhancing the fan experience.
“A lot of adult fans and alumni would like to have a beer,” he told the paper. “As a general rule, we’d like to make it a good experience when they come to our events. There are young people there, too. That’s been a thought and reason in the past why we have not served.” Powers later urged that the university plans to strictly enforce laws and control underage drinking.
The potential alcohol launch was quashed on July 12, when Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa announced there would be no alcohol sales in the fall. “Bill Powers and I agreed that we really needed more of an experience of selling beer and wine at our basketball games, baseball, and track and field,” said Cigarroa.
Meanwhile, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) seems is in no hurry to change a rule forbidding alcohol sales in the general seating area. The rule reads:
“No alcoholic beverages shall be sold or dispensed for public consumption anywhere in the facility and the possession and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages in the public areas of the facility shall be prohibited. These prohibitions shall not apply to private, leased areas in the facility or other areas designated by the SEC. There shall be no advertising displays mentioning or promoting alcoholic beverages in the facility.”
SEC Commissioner Mike Slive told the Birmingham News earlier this year that he likes the rule.
“I haven’t heard any concerted interest in changing our rule, but our people would like to talk about it,” said Slive. “We’re institutions of higher education and alcohol on campuses has been an issue for a long while. I think this is an area where we want to walk slowly and carefully.”
The University of Michigan has similarly said no to alcohol sales at Michigan Stadium, for now.
Athletic Director Dave Brandon told The Ann Arbor News that the liability and risk of serving alcohol at a stadium, where many fans are under the legal drinking age was among the factors that drove the decision.
“You’ve got to set up places to vendor this stuff and you’ve got to make sure you’re selling it to the right people, not the wrong people, and then you’ve got to deal with all the ramifications of alcohol being served in an area where you’ve got a lot of young people and a lot of underage people,” said Brandon.
Despite pockets of resistance, Pepper suggested that selling alcohol inside the stadium remains a more prudent decision.
“Having the checks and balances in place with a concessionaire company obtaining a liquor license and being financially liable for serving irresponsibly is always a better control mechanism that the only source of adult beverages being out of the trunk in a parking lot,” said Pepper.
