Beer Sales, Take II

[levetsj]

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/587...?showAll=y&c=y

UL ready to sell beer at stadium
Permit issue cleared in time for Saturday

* By MARSHA SILLS
* Advocate Acadiana bureau
* Published: Sep 11, 2009 - Page: 1BA



LAFAYETTE — The Ragin’ Cajuns concessionaire, Sodexo Sports & Leisure, has secured the proper permits to begin beer sales at Saturday’s Kansas State football game against UL.

Beer sales were to begin at last Saturday’s game against Southern University when a record crowd of 41,357 watched the University of Louisiana at Lafayette defeat the Jaguars 42-19.

Sodexo, however, voluntarily postponed its plan to begin beer sales after the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control raised questions late Friday about whether the company had the proper permits to sell alcohol inside the stadium, according to a statement issued by ATC commissioner Murphy Painter.

Painter would not say Thursday what prompted him to take a closer look at beer sales at Cajun Field or if a complaint was made to his office.

UL is the first public university to sell beer to the public at its football games. Care was taken in the matter because the decision would also be applied to “future situations at all publicly funded universities,” Painter stated.

“Because the stadium was not licensed the question became whether a caterer’s license was a lawful and valid way to allow alcohol sales at that location,” Painter stated.

He said that two years ago licensing laws were strengthened to provide more control over relationships between suppliers and outlets. The law now requires caterers to also apply for a special event permit if alcoholic beverages are sold as an “incidental” part of an event, which Painter said applied in the UL case.

“We required them to get a special event permit, which they did, and that puts them in order,” Painter said.

Permits were required for each home game at a cost of $100 each. Sodexo area regional manager James Crow picked up the permits in Baton Rouge on Thursday.

The company also is the concessionaire for Moore Field, UL’s baseball field, where beer has been a standing concession item.

Beer is also sold during basketball games at the Cajundome.

While the Cajundome is a licensed facility for alcohol sales for basketball games, Painter said he wasn’t aware of the licensing status of Moore Field.

Crow said the issue is being investigated. “We’re working through that now.”

Sodexo pitched beer sales during football games to the university as part of its new contract last year. As part of the deal, Sodexo is responsible for licensure, vendor training and security at beer vendor areas.

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

The larger venue of Cajun Field and liability issues its presents had not made the prospect of beer concessions desirable in the past, David Walker, UL athletics director, said last week.

Walker also said last week that Sodexo’s proposal and its experience with beer sales at large athletic venues allayed those concerns.

Safety measures such as separate locations where IDs are verified and wristbands issued and uniformed police officers at beer concessions have been a part of the plan, Crow said.

There’s a two-beer limit per purchase and last call is at the end of the third quarter. Each concession area also offers information about taxi services, he said.

“Our goal is to provide a safe environment,” Crow said.

The university also now has a designated area for its alcohol-free zone: Section N located behind the UL Pride of Acadiana marching band. The section will be reserved in time for the next home game against North Texas on Oct. 10.

[Hammer58]

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.

[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