Beer Sales, Take II

[Zeebart21]

Care was taken in the matter because the decision would also be applied to “future situations at all publicly funded universities,” Painter stated.

Meaning when the unimaginative "what about us" crowd decides to quit whining and follow their lead all the groundwork will have been done for them and the trail blazed once again by UL.

[CajunNation]

Z,

FWIW, a co-worker of mine, who happens to be a tigger fan, walked up to me Monday morning and blurted out, "Man, LSU really shut y'all beer sales down huh?"

I don't know if he was yanking my chain or not, but I found that a bit odd.

[Turbine]

Under the contract, UL receives 45 percent of the beer sales.

Sounds like 45% of the gross.

If so, a well deserved sweet deal.

My only Q is how long before BR lifts the ban on Campus Venue beer sales?

igeaux.mobi

[Zeebart21]

Z,

FWIW, a co-worker of mine, who happens to be a tigger fan, walked up to me Monday morning and blurted out, "Man, LSU really shut y'all beer sales down huh?"

I don't know if he was yanking my chain or not, but I found that a bit odd.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but ....................................

Z

[DestinCajun]

My only Q is how long before BR lifts the ban on Campus Venue beer sales?
igeaux.mobi _

Gut feelin' I'm sharing here Turbine but I seriously doubt "BR" lifts the ban.

[AstroCajun]

_ Gut feelin' I'm sharing here Turbine but I seriously doubt "BR" lifts the ban. _

They'd have to get the SEC to lift their ban first.

[Turbine]

Prediction: As soon as they find a pair of "e" there will be BeeR in BR.

I don't know if it will be drinkable.

[levetsj]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125271416817105157.html

Wall Street Journal

Beer Sales Make a Comeback at College Stadiums
Struggling Cities and Schools Hope to Cash In While Avoiding Underage Drinking and Violence; No Suds After Halftime



By JEFF D. OPDYKE and DAVID KESMODEL

Beer has long been a social lubricant at tailgate parties in college-campus parking lots during football season. Increasingly, that party is moving inside the stadium.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette this weekend expects to allow fans for the first time to buy beer inside "The Swamp," as the school's stadium is known. The city of Memphis, Tenn., began selling beer last weekend at the city-owned Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, home field for the University of Memphis. And both the University of Akron and the University of Maryland this season are selling beer for the first time in the high-dollar luxury suites in their respective stadiums.

A big motivation for this beer run is money.

With the economy squeezing government coffers, city leaders and school administrators "have to think progressively and look for every opportunity to find new income," without increasing taxes or imposing more fees, said Jack Sammons, chief administrative officer for the city of Memphis. The city annually loses some $260,000 operating the Liberty Bowl, not including capital improvements that typically exceed $1 million a year.

Overall, about three dozen of the roughly 120 largest NCAA Division 1 schools allow beer sales inside their stadiums, though many limit sales to luxury suites, lounges or club-seating areas. In other cases, beer is available stadium-wide because a facility is owned by the city, the state or a local sports authority, and that body, not the school, establishes the alcohol policy. Most colleges, already struggling with underage drinking on campus, frown on beer sales in their stadiums.

Colleges and cities face a delicate balancing act soliciting beer sales where underage students congregate en masse. Problems have erupted in the past. The University of Colorado at Boulder, citing violence linked to drunken fans, banned beer sales in 1996 in all areas of Folsom Field except luxury suites and club seats. Just last month, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which does not allow alcohol sales in its stadium, banned alcohol-related advertising during football broadcasts.

Schools are also pursuing various measures to prevent potential problems. Along with checking the ID of everyone buying a brew, Memphis is dispensing beer in clear cups so security officers can monitor who's actually drinking it.

The University of Nevada, Reno surveyed ticket holders last year to gauge interest in banning beer in Mackay Stadium. A majority wanted the suds, but also wanted enhanced security. In response, the university has trained security personnel in conflict resolution.

Colorado State University in Fort Collins, like several schools, permits sales only up to halftime. It also limits beer to only 3.2% alcohol by volume. The university, which has sold beer in Hughes Stadium for more than 30 years, halted beer sales in the stadium in 2004 and appointed a task force to curb alcohol abuse in the wake of two alcohol-fueled riots near campus and a student's death from alcohol poisoning. The task force determined that rowdy behavior at tailgate parties outside the stadium was more of a problem than drinking inside. The university resumed sales in 2005.

Although the National Collegiate Athletic Association bans alcohol sales and signage at the championship events it controls, it doesn't regulate school activities during the regular season. The nation's various athletic conferences also generally pursue a hands-off policy, though some do limit or ban alcohol sales at conference-sponsored tournaments and championship games.

The nation's two biggest beer suppliers, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and MillerCoors LLC, say they're not pushing for in-stadium beer sales. Though some colleges and concessionaires have approached Anheuser-Busch wholesalers, the brewer "does not lobby" for the sale of beer inside college arenas, said Dave Peacock, president of the U.S. arm of the Belgian firm. Anheuser came under fire from a number of universities last month, when it began a marketing campaign using college team colors on Bud Light cans.

A spokesman for MillerCoors said selling beer in stadiums "is not a focus for us."

In preparing to open its new on-campus TCF Bank Stadium this season, the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis aimed to provide beer sales to premium-seat holders only. But last spring, Minnesota lawmakers balked. They argued the stadium should maintain the same egalitarian policy that for years allowed fans of legal drinking age to imbibe at Minneapolis's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, where the Golden Gophers formerly played home football games. (The Metrodome sold the beer; the university was not involved.)

When the legislature passed a law calling for stadium-wide sales, the university's Board of Regents responded by banning beer entirely -- a move that resulted in several suite-holders canceling their tickets. In all, the university's athletic department estimates the beer ban will cost it about $1 million in lost revenue.

Meanwhile, the city of Memphis expects beer sales in the stadium will net roughly $200,000 a year for the city. The city shares no proceeds with the university, which "doesn't advocate beer sales at all," said Bob Winn, an associate athletic director at the school.

Although city officials understand "the university would prefer we not sell beer, we'd prefer not to be in the stadium business," said the city's chief administrative officer, Mr. Sammons. "But my job is to look under every rock these days for new revenue opportunities, so we've agreed to disagree."

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will share revenues from its pending beer sales with Sodexo, the U.S. unit of Paris-based facilities-management company Sodexo SA. Neither school officials nor Sodexo executives would comment on the contract's details, but Russ Mushro, a Sodexo vice president, said contracts typically give schools between 25% and 50% of concession sales.

He said concessions generate about $6 per fan when beer is included. Last year, The Ragin' Cajuns attracted, on average, 21,500 fans per game.

Write to Jeff D. Opdyke at jeff.opdyke@wsj.com and David Kesmodel at david.kesmodel@wsj.com

[leeman]

"UL is the first public university to sell beer to the public at its football games." Not sure what that means... like in the entire nation!.. needs clarification....