Big Red Business: Does NU need beer money?

If you want to drink alcohol inside the confines of Memorial Stadium, you do what people always do -- flaunt the rules and sneak in a flask or airplane-type miniature bottles.

But if you want to soak in the action during a football game at most of the other Big Ten conference schools, it’s far easier and perfectly legal throughout the stands or at least in premium seating areas.

11 of the 14 schools in the conference permit the sale of alcohol at their football stadiums and in other athletic venues too. Of those schools, five sell beer -- and often wine -- to fans in general seating areas as long as they’re at least 21, according to a HuskerOnline survey of alcohol policies at Big Ten schools.

The other six schools limit beer and wine sales to suites and premium club-level seating.

In February, Rutgers became the latest school to expand the sale of beer and wine to fans throughout HighPoint.com Stadium. Previously, purchases had been limited to fans in premium seat locations.

The Scarlet Knights join Minnesota, Purdue, Ohio State, and Maryland in selling alcohol to the masses of fans. Nebraska will play in three of those stadiums this fall. Colorado, where NU also travels to this year sells beer and wine throughout their football stadium. Illinois will be the only road venue Nebraska plays in without stadium-wide alcohol sales.

While a growing number of Division I schools around the country have loosened regulations to allow suds to flow at football games and in some cases basketball, hockey, baseball and even women’s softball, Nebraska has not budged.

And don’t expect it to happen anytime soon either.

“We have no plans to sell alcohol in any of our athletic venues at Nebraska for the foreseeable future,” athletic director Bill Moos said in a statement to HuskerOnline. “Every school is faced with different challenges and situations in terms of attracting a fan base, and at some schools, alcohol sales may be deemed to be an important component.”

“Here at Nebraska,” Moos added, “we do not feel alcohol is a necessary addition to our game-day experience, and we are fortunate to have many sold-out venues with the amazing support we receive from our Husker fans.”

Although this idea has been floated before, it has been rejected, even in the skybox and club levels of Memorial Stadium.

According to some sources, alcohol sales were shot down when Tom Osborne was athletic director and the idea has never gained traction since then. Before 2008, skybox holders in Memorial Stadium were allowed to stock their suites with alcohol for home games, but it had to be in the stadium by Friday afternoon on a game weekend.

This is the official policy: “Alcoholic beverages of any type are not allowed in the stadium. In addition, consumption of alcohol is prohibited in city and university parking lots and property.”

There would be a number of problematic issues to overcome in order to convert Memorial Stadium from dry to wet.

One of the biggest: it’s a long hike to get to and from concessions areas and kiosks that would sell alcohol in certain parts of Memorial Stadium. Try carrying a couple cups of beer to the upper reaches of the end zones, and then having to sidestep through your section to get to your row and then to your seats.

Heaven sakes if you spill down the back of the fan in front of you, or need to use the restroom facilities constantly.

Then there are the student sections. Do you place beer stations next to those areas? Some schools, such as Maryland, keep the beer taps away from designated student sections and adjoining sections.

Schools also must establish policies for security, including training to spot fake IDs, and establish cut off times and limits on the number of drinks that can be sold to one person per transaction. And will any of this stop students from buying that second cup of beer for their underaged buddy?

But, insiders say, there are two big financial reasons why Nebraska has not joined the drinking crowd: Alcohol sales don’t bring in that much in the big scheme of things, and the athletic department doesn’t need the money.

When your athletic program is already generating more than $140 million in revenue, is $1 million or even $1.5 million from the sale of alcohol over the course of seven home games really worth all the headaches and expense for a relatively small line item on the budget.

Any push for changing the alcohol policy at Memorial Stadium would also require getting enough votes from the Board of Regents, and university administration, especially at a time of growing concern about binge drinking and other alcohol-related issues on college campuses.

Legislators, religious leaders, student organizations, and restaurant, bar and liquor store owners are among the stakeholders who’d want to debate this issue.

Besides Nebraska, Michigan and Northwestern are the only other conference schools that prohibit the sale of alcohol at sporting events. And they don’t appear to be rethinking their stance either.

“Michigan remains beer and alcohol-free at athletic events and that policy is not currently under review,” said Kurt Svoboda, an athletic department spokesman.

HuskerOnline surveyed the remaining Big Ten conference schools on their policies regarding alcohol sales at home football games.

Here are the schools that permit alcohol sales throughout their stadiums on game day. Some schools provided detailed sales data, or it was obtained from other media reports.

Rutgers: In February, the school announced plans to expand the sale of beer and wine to fans in general seating areas at HighPoint.com Stadium. Previously, alcohol was sold only in premium seat locations.

Under the policy, fans can purchase two alcoholic beverages per person on every transaction. Alcohol sales will be cut off at the end of the third quarter.

The alcohol sales expansion will also include general seating areas at Rutgers basketball games as well as at baseball and softball venues.

“This decision was the result of a year-long review of the experience and data from across the college landscape,'' Rutgers athletics director Pat Hobbs said in a statement last month. Revenue will be used to offset athletic scholarship costs, the university said.

Purdue: The school started selling alcohol in premium seating areas of Ross-Ade Stadium in 2015, but expanded sales throughout the stadium in 2017.

The results? Alcohol sales nearly doubled at Purdue home football games in 2018 compared with the previous season, according to the Lafayette Courier & Journal.

In 2017, the athletic department generated $567,778 in gross sales. This past seven-game home season, gross sales climbed to $1.063 million, the newspaper reported. Alcohol sales at the three-night games on the schedule averaged $188,000.

Purdue also allows alcohol sales at the Mackey Arena for men’s and women’s basketball. Gross sales at men’s games reached $263,222 in the 2017-2018 season, while the school generated $5,241 in gross sales at women’s games.

Minnesota: The university permits the sale of beer and wine stadium-wide at football games at TCF Bank Stadium. Sales start 90 minutes before kickoff and are shut off at the end of the third quarter. There is a two-drink maximum per transaction, according to the university’s policy.

“Since we started selling alcohol (in 2012), we have seen a decrease in alcohol-related incidents in the stadium,” said athletic department spokesman Paul Rovnak.

Last season, the athletic department reported alcohol sales at football games of $1.21 million in revenue, down slightly from $1.48 million in sales in 2017. Minnesota’s athletic department budget was about $116 million in 2017-2018.

Also, the school sells wine and beer in premium areas at hockey and basketball games.

Ohio State: Beer has been sold stadium-wide at the Horseshoe since 2016. The Buckeyes went over $1 million in net revenue -- after expenses -- in the second year when beer sales brought in $1.23 million. More current numbers were unavailable.

Sales end at half-time, and there is a maximum of two beers per person, per transaction. Students, who mainly sit in the south stands, are allowed one beer per transaction.

Beer is also sold at Ohio State basketball games.

Maryland: Nearly four years ago, amid much debate, Maryland decided to allow the sale of Maryland craft beers and other brands at concession stands and kiosks throughout Capital One Field.

Under the policy, there is a limit of one beer per person, per transaction. No alcohol is sold near designated student sections and neighboring sections. All concession stands and kiosks will stop selling beer at the end of the third quarter, with “no exceptions and even if fans are in line,” the policy stated.

Some proceeds from beer sales are earmarked for student counseling services and to Terps After Dark, which provides an alternative to drinking with alcohol-free late-night events on campus.

Beer is also sold at Maryland basketball games.

Maryland did not respond to a request for alcohol sales data. However, the school generated sales of $1.012 million in the 2016-2017 season, its second season in which beer sales were allowed. After expenses, turned a profit of $100,615, which was far lower than expected, according to published reports.

To get an idea of what it might cost to get alcohol sales up and running, here’s what Maryland spent in 2015-2016, according to a media report. Those costs included: about $260,000 in infrastructure changes at the football stadium and basketball arena; about $322,000 in beer-serving equipment; $60,000 in additional equipment within concession stands; $12,000 on signage and marketing materials, and about $105,000 on ID-checking devices, employee training, and other training materials. That’s more than $750,000.

Maryland lost $333,650 on alcohol sales during the 2015-2016 year mainly because of those start-up costs.

Six schools -- Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State, and Indiana -- only allow alcohol to be sold in premium seating areas, such as skyboxes and club-level sections. Here’s a sampling of their policies.

At Wisconsin, no alcohol is sold at Camp Randall Stadium except in designated premium seating areas. Athletic director Barry Alvarez said that policy will not change as long as he’s making the decisions.

Alcohol sales at Illinois are limited to suites at Memorial Stadium and the State Farm Center for basketball. Beer is also sold in a pre-game beer garden area of the Grange Grove.

Last May, Illinois turned on the beer taps to test sales at one baseball game. “The results were very positive for the fans,” said Kent Brown, an athletic department spokesman. “We sold about 1,000 beers at the game with no issues.”

Partly for that reason, he said, Illinois is considering a beer tent at a baseball game this spring.

While Brown said athletics officials continue to review alcohol sales in general seating areas of the football stadium, no decision has been made to expand the service.

At Iowa, sales of beer and wine are limited to private suites in Kinnick Stadium and the Kinnick Outdoor Club level of the stadium, said Steven Roe, an athletic department spokesman.

For men’s basketball, there are two hospitality suites that serve alcohol before games and during halftime, Roe said.

Annual sales of alcohol are between $100,000 to $125,000, he said. While those funds are primarily used for security on game days, Roe said the athletics program also financially supports campus alcohol harm reduction programs.

Indiana has opened up the Henke Hall of Champions to fans who purchase season tickets in the club level. This package includes amenities such as beer and wine for purchase. This ticket package can be purchased for about $800.

When asked last summer by reporters if the university would expand alcohol sales to general seating areas, athletic director Fred Glass said “ I think that it probably” will happen.

A decade ago, only about a dozen top-tier schools turned on the taps at football games. That number has climbed to more than 50 out of the 129 Football Bowl Subdivision programs, according to the Des Moines Register and other media reports.

Despite concerns from some fans about ruining the game-day experience, schools have been jumping on the beer wagon. It’s largely seen as a way to boost attendance and revenue, especially as younger fans find stay-at-home alternatives to watching games.

Whether controlling alcohol sales inside stadiums and arenas has cut down on arrests and ejections because of public intoxication, underage drinking, and unruly fan behavior is still largely anecdotal.

Several schools contacted for this story said problem drinking has decreased since starting to sell alcohol. The majority of problems at some schools involved people under the age of 21 attempting to buy alcohol.

David Jernigan, professor in the department of health law, policy and management at Boston University’s School of Public Health, is a nationally recognized expert on youth alcohol trends. While he said there is no hard data on how school-sanctioned game-day drinking in stadiums has impacted public health and safety and athletic department bottom lines, he noted that “ earlier experience and research was not encouraging from a public health perspective.”

Jernigan said it will likely be years before there is enough research to thoroughly evaluate this trend in college athletics.

Steve Rosen writes about the business of sports for HuskerOnline.com. Questions, comments, story ideas? Reach Steve at sbrosen1030@gmail.com.