Sunday Pulpit: Is it time to rethink the way we drink at SEC games?
Lost in a myriad of drab and dragging questions, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey was finally asked the one several fans have been thirsting for.
When are alcohol sales going to be allowed during games?
The question was brought up due to discussions of LSU potentially building a beer garden in Tiger Stadium — the SEC equivalent of adding a dessert bar to a Weight Watchers meeting. Of course, whichever side of the proposition you stand on is irrelevant given the conference’s current policy on alcohol sales.
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For those wondering, the full ruling states:
“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.”
That doesn’t mean alcohol is totally banned from SEC stadiums. You can still find a drink inside the exclusive club levels or bring your own to outfield seating of several baseball stadiums. But, to the general public SEC sports are pretty dry — well, at least at the concession stands.
With that said, Sankey didn’t totally put a cap on the idea altogether.
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“Joe (Alleva) and I have talked about our conference policy and he’s been great in the conversation about it, adhering to the policy,” Sankey said of previous discussions with the LSU athletic director when asked during a question and answer session with journalists in Birmingham last week. “ At some point, I’m relatively certain there will be further review of the prohibition. That doesn’t predict any outcome. We’ll see what the future holds in that policy, but right now it’s in place.”
In some ways, the SEC’s policy on alcohol comes as no surprise. After all, this is the Deep South. Tuscaloosa only recently became able to sell alcohol on Sundays and still closes its bars before the end of the nightly news on the Sabbath.
And I get that.
Part of living in the South is accepting the small-town charm and wholesomeness of its cities. Please don’t confuse this column as an attempt to challenge any of that.
Seriously though, who are we kidding? Anyone who has attended a football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium has undoubtedly sat within arm’s length of at least three or four flasks of whiskey. When I attended the University of Alabama six years ago, the Campus Party Store, located less than three blocks away from the stadium, sold disposable flasks with the Alabama script A printed on them.
I was once even offered a can of Bud Light in the stands. Yes, a can. The culprit had apparently snuck in several. So if it’s already happening, why isn’t the SEC making money off it yet?
Other conferences have taken a lighter stance on alcohol sales. In the Big Ten, Ohio State, Minnesota and Maryland all sell beer in their football stadiums. So do Big 12 schools Texas and West Virginia and ACC schools Louisville, Miami and Syracuse. In fact, seven of the 11 states where SEC football is played have other programs that sell alcohol in their stadiums.
Guess what, it works out pretty well.
According to a report from The Columbus Dispatch, alcohol sales reached over $1.1 million in Ohio State’s first season with general beer sales in Ohio Stadium last year. That’s a profit anyone can raise a pint to, right?
“I go through that in my mind. I’ll save that for the appropriate conversation,” Sankey said. “The conference has a policy that says we’re not selling alcohol in the general seating area. You can agree or disagree about the policy but that’s the policy.
“The basis for changing that or maintaining it is one that is developed in the conversation. We have the policy, which has been viewed as an event management for public safety. Drawing a line between the people close to the student athletes, having alcohol in large quantities. There are some imperfections with that policy and that’s why it continues to be a point of conversation.I’m not going to go through a wholesale of the positives of selling alcohol and negatives of selling alcohol. You can probably write that one without my participation.”
Just did, Greg. The ball’s in your court now.
Cheers!
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