Alabama football takes step for alcohol sales at Bryant-Denny Stadium, applies for liquor license
Alabama football took an important next step toward alcohol sales at Bryant-Denny Stadium this fall.
UA's concessionaire, Levy Premium Foodservice LP, has sent an application to the City Council of Tuscaloosa for a liquor license. Required notice was recently posted outside Gate 5 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The public hearing on the application is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16 in the council chamber room at city hall.
If approved by the city council, the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board's license approval bureaucracy will have to give final say.
“Over the last couple months, we’ve revisited the opportunity for alcohol sales at select athletics events,” Alabama Athletics Director Greg Byrne said in a statement to The Tuscaloosa News. “We’re currently working with our concessionaire through the liquor license application process for Bryant-Denny Stadium.”
Pending those approvals, it would signify the first time alcohol has been sold to the general public at Bryant-Denny Stadium or at any Alabama athletics event on campus.
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The SEC gave the green light for alcohol sales at all on-campus stadiums in the spring of 2019 when it lifted a previous ban. The decision was left up to the schools whether to sell alcohol.
Coleman Coliseum appeared set to begin alcohol sales for men's basketball, women's basketball and gymnastics this past winter when UA submitted an application to the city council for alcohol sales. That was approved in early February, but then the city of Tuscaloosa announced a service fee on ticketed events where alcohol is sold that prompted UA to wait.
Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne then announced that UA would not be moving forward with alcohol sales at that time pending a review of the service fee.
Then in June, Byrne announced UA would reconsider alcohol sales at events after the university worked out a deal with the city to lift the proposed service fee.
“We appreciate our partnerships, especially with the City, and the efforts of all the public safety personnel and first responders who work in and around our venues," Byrne said in June. "With the recent expanded collaboration between The University of Alabama and City of Tuscaloosa we will continue our due diligence and revisit the opportunity for alcohol sales at select athletics events with our University leadership.”
As to why Alabama has decided to pursue alcohol sales for athletic events, Byrne provided an answer when discussing Coleman Coliseum in late January.
"It's something a lot of our fans have been asking for," Byrne told The Tuscaloosa News. "We've been able to watch the other schools, and the reporting we have gotten back from other schools is that alcohol incidents at their games actually go down once they sell because it's a much more controlled environment."
Alabama is set to open the season at home against Utah State on Sept. 3.
Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football takes step for alcohol sales at Bryant-Denny Stadium
