GAME CHANGER: In-Stadium Alcohol Sales Catches on in College

In-Stadium Alcohol Sales Catches on in College GAME CHANGER

By Emma-Blake Byrum and Carroll R. Walton, carroll@insidetailgating.com

Public universities in the state of North Carolina, as well as schools throughout the Southeastern Conference, have been given the opportunity to start selling alcohol in their stadiums and arenas this fall due to recent policy and law changes.

Those changes will add at least nine schools to the growing list of 55 Football Bowl Subdivision programs who were already selling alcohol in their general seating areas before this season, according to Sports Illustrated.

North Carolina, N.C. State and East Carolina joined that list shortly after N.C. governor Roy Cooper signed a bill in June legalizing the sale of beer and wine in general seating at stadiums in the UNC system. By July, the Board of Trustees at all three schools had elected to go forward with alcohol sales.

The North Carolina legislation came on the heels of a decision by the SEC in May to lift a ban on general alcohol sales at its sporting events. So far only six of the 14 SEC schools have announced plans to sell beer and wine in 2019: Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.

Some find it telling that the SEC is making a change to its alcohol policy after hitting a 16-year-low in football attendance. Proponents to alcohol sales believe not only will it help generate revenue, but improve attendance because fans who had been staying at their tailgates (or at home) to drink will come.

A lot of people have tickets in their pockets in the tailgating area, and they don’t come in,” Illinois assistant AD Marty Kaufmann told Sports Illustrated after the Illini announced plans to sell alcohol. “Maybe now they say, ‘Let’s go in and get a beer.’

How alcohol sales affect attendance, tailgating, and the overall atmosphere both inside the stadium and out is something not only that fans and alumni will keep an eye on but other schools who are continuing to review their policies.

Defending national champion Clemson is one ACC school that has no plans to change its current policy on no alcohol sales in general seating. Clemson has a legendary tailgating tradition and still allows fans “pass-outs” to go to tailgating lots during games.

It’s not something that we’re particularly interested in doing right now,” Clemson associate athletic director for strategic communications Jeff Kalin said. “It’s not even something that we’re considering.

Some fans worry the new alcohol policy might have a negative effect on the culture of football crowds inside the stadiums. Though others argue that by regulating alcohol sales with a strict set of guidelines, schools can reduce the number of alcohol-related incidents at games. Statistics from alcohol-selling schools like West Virginia and Maryland back that up, according to the online publication “Saturday Down South.”

Louisiana State was one of the SEC schools leading the cry for a policy change. LSU graduate Paul McGoey of New Orleans, can see why.

The real truth is there is plenty of alcohol consumption inside an SEC stadium that is done through illegal means,” said McGoey, LSU Class of 1987. "Allowing alcohol in specified sections of the stadium will make it less of a hassle for the drinkers to drink. It just might make it easier for the school to police and control.

With fans having less reason to binge drink before games, McGoey also points out that the atmosphere at pre-game tailgates might actually improve.

Tailgating will not suffer,” he said. “I think it potentially brings more people to the game and to campus. It will actually improve, given the fact that the average tailgater will not have to cram all of their pregame drinking into a short period of time.

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