Should Iowa State Serve Beer at Sporting Events?

[Senolcyc]

It already does; it just doesn't sell to the unwashed masses.

[TruClone]

Oh no, if we sell beer at games the stadium will be half empty due to everyone being in the restrooms! We are going to have to build more restrooms!

[NickTheGreat]

No. Because we don't do it now and nobody is drunk and belligerent inside Jack or Hilton. EVER

[NickTheGreat]

Selling beer won't change anything because it will be expensive enough that students (and others) will continue to sneak it in. What they COULD do though, is get much tougher on people who do sneak it in. Instead of just confiscating the alcohol they brought in, make it an automatic removal from the stands. Still, as others have said you'll still have the crowd that has to shotgun five beers 10 minutes before kickoff.

Then what's the problem? Or the downside to selling?

[rebecacy]

When the issue of selling beer involves an institution of higher education, I do think the institution needs to be sensitive to the message it may be sending as a result of selling or providing alcohol at university events. Indeed alcohol is currently being sold (club and suites) but it is not overly publicized as compared to the alcohol being sold at the concession stands.

Binge drinking is a major problem on our campuses. Consequently, I think colleges and universities need to be especially prudent when it comes to these types of issues that involve the institution providing or selling alcohol for profit.

In this mememe society some will argue to their death.

[NickTheGreat]

When the issue of selling beer involves an institution of higher education, I do think the institution needs to be sensitive to the message it may be sending as a result of selling or providing alcohol at university events. Indeed alcohol is currently being sold (club and suites) but it is not overly publicized as compared to the alcohol being sold at the concession stands.

Binge drinking is a major problem on our campuses. Consequently, I think colleges and universities need to be especially prudent when it comes to these types of issues that involve the institution providing or selling alcohol for profit.

In this mememe society some will argue to their death.

Is that why I can buy ISU shot glasses, beer steins, etc.

[BCClone]

Is this the thread about bowling in the south end zone? I think as soon as new facilities are done, it's time to do it.

[CyDude16]

As a student, I probably wouldnt buy that many beers if they were sold. They'd probably on be "hold over" beers to keep the buzz going.

I'm all for it, and all for allowing re-entry at half. It's no other fans right to tell how other fans should enjoy their game experience. And I really want to know who voted for the "No and don't allow drinking in the parking lots during tailgating" That is beyond dumb. Go to a schools tailgate and it deflates the game experience. The social aspect of drinking with tailgating is one of the best things we had going for Iowa State when we're losing. Don't take that away from the fans.

[Fasnacht]

WVU sold beer at football games for the first time this past season in conjunction with not allowing people to reenter after halftime. The following is a summary piece on how the program fared...Pretty interesting...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Adding beer sales and requiring West Virginia University football fans to stay put throughout games translated to stronger concession sales and fewer arrests this past season, a student who crunched numbers for the athletic department said Friday.
Industrial engineering student Richard Woody told the Board of Governors that concession sales were up 84 percent overall from the previous football season, while food sales were up 60 percent.
Concession sales totaled $613,651 in the 2010-11 season and $744,082 this season, said athletics spokesman Mike Fragale. Add in beer sales, and the total for this past season was $1.26 million.
In pitching a change to the school's alcohol policy last year, Athletic Director Oliver Luck estimated WVU could make as much as $1.2 million a season in beer sales alone, depending on weather, attendance and team performance. This past season, it made nearly $520,000.
Woody, who gathered data from stadium staff and from WVU and city police, also said the number of calls, arrests and charges filed on game days was down across the board. That included underage drinking and open container violations.
"I think it worked," said WVU Police Chief Bob Roberts, who supported Luck's multipronged plan to reduce binge drinking and bad behavior by selling beer at Mountaineer Field for the first time and ending a long-standing practice of letting fans leave during the game.
The so-called "pass-out" policy allowed hard-partying fans to drink heavily in the parking lot then return to the stadium, where they often ruined the fun for others. Now, people who leave aren't allowed back in.
"This was probably the best season I've ever worked," Roberts said.
The only surprise, he said, was that pre-game drinking led to busier first halves for police. Generally, Roberts said, second halves "were quieter and pleasant."
Roberts told the board police made 149 arrests at a single game between Louisiana State and Alabama last fall.
"That was more arrests than we had the whole season," he said.
"It's not perfect anytime you get 60,000 people in one place," Roberts added. "But I do believe it worked."
Board member James Dailey was skeptical last year that selling beer would help curtail rowdiness.
"It pleases me tremendously to see it worked," he told Luck. "It worked very, very well."
One more bit of good news from Woody's report made board members chuckle: Restroom use was only above his predictions for two big games, Louisville and Connecticut, and two portable, 12-stall bathroom trailers were barely used.
Woody recommends eliminating them next season, but adding hot food stands with hot dogs and pretzels -- the most commonly purchased foods -- at the beer concession points so people don't have to make two stops.
He also said the decision to keep beer sales away from the student section forced general admission fans and season ticket holders at that end of the stadium to travel farther than necessary and created congestion in other areas.
Woody said his staff surveyed roughly 25 percent of season ticket holders about their experiences at the Louisville and Connecticut games.
About 78 percent described their stadium experience as enjoyable. Fourteen to 17 percent said it was enjoyable, but that disruptive behavior was still present.

[WalkingCY]

WVU sold beer at football games for the first time this past season in conjunction with not allowing people to reenter after halftime. The following is a summary piece on how the program fared...Pretty interesting...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Adding beer sales and requiring West Virginia University football fans to stay put throughout games translated to stronger concession sales and fewer arrests this past season, a student who crunched numbers for the athletic department said Friday.
Industrial engineering student Richard Woody told the Board of Governors that concession sales were up 84 percent overall from the previous football season, while food sales were up 60 percent.
Concession sales totaled $613,651 in the 2010-11 season and $744,082 this season, said athletics spokesman Mike Fragale. Add in beer sales, and the total for this past season was $1.26 million.
In pitching a change to the school's alcohol policy last year, Athletic Director Oliver Luck estimated WVU could make as much as $1.2 million a season in beer sales alone, depending on weather, attendance and team performance. This past season, it made nearly $520,000.
Woody, who gathered data from stadium staff and from WVU and city police, also said the number of calls, arrests and charges filed on game days was down across the board. That included underage drinking and open container violations.
"I think it worked," said WVU Police Chief Bob Roberts, who supported Luck's multipronged plan to reduce binge drinking and bad behavior by selling beer at Mountaineer Field for the first time and ending a long-standing practice of letting fans leave during the game.
The so-called "pass-out" policy allowed hard-partying fans to drink heavily in the parking lot then return to the stadium, where they often ruined the fun for others. Now, people who leave aren't allowed back in.
"This was probably the best season I've ever worked," Roberts said.
The only surprise, he said, was that pre-game drinking led to busier first halves for police. Generally, Roberts said, second halves "were quieter and pleasant."
Roberts told the board police made 149 arrests at a single game between Louisiana State and Alabama last fall.
"That was more arrests than we had the whole season," he said.
"It's not perfect anytime you get 60,000 people in one place," Roberts added. "But I do believe it worked."
Board member James Dailey was skeptical last year that selling beer would help curtail rowdiness.
"It pleases me tremendously to see it worked," he told Luck. "It worked very, very well."
One more bit of good news from Woody's report made board members chuckle: Restroom use was only above his predictions for two big games, Louisville and Connecticut, and two portable, 12-stall bathroom trailers were barely used.
Woody recommends eliminating them next season, but adding hot food stands with hot dogs and pretzels -- the most commonly purchased foods -- at the beer concession points so people don't have to make two stops.
He also said the decision to keep beer sales away from the student section forced general admission fans and season ticket holders at that end of the stadium to travel farther than necessary and created congestion in other areas.
Woody said his staff surveyed roughly 25 percent of season ticket holders about their experiences at the Louisville and Connecticut games.
About 78 percent described their stadium experience as enjoyable. Fourteen to 17 percent said it was enjoyable, but that disruptive behavior was still present.

Nice story. And from the looks of it, it is working out VERY WELL for WVU. Very good look at what ISU could/should be doing in the next year or so in regards to selling beer at JTS.