Kentucky football fans wanted alcohol. Now they have it. Here’s how opening day went.

The early morning scene Saturday outside Kroger Field was reminiscent of plenty of prior UK football home games.

Tailgating tables and tents were erected, and Kentucky football fans settled in for a few hours of fun prior to the Wildcats’ 2023 season-opening win against Ball State.

From beer to bourbon to vodka, plenty of alcoholic options were brought and shared in these communal settings.

While this was familiar, the fan experience inside Kroger Field has undergone a major change.

Beer and seltzer drinks are now available for the public to purchase at Kroger Field, which has a capacity of about 61,000 people.

Months have passed since Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart made the long-awaited announcement that alcohol would be available for the public to buy at all UK athletics home events.

But while a successful spring implementation of beer and seltzer sales occurred at Kentucky Proud Park for UK baseball games and John Cropp Stadium for UK softball games, nothing approached the large-scale nature of Saturday’s UK football home opener.

Brad Wampler is in his fourth season of having UK football season tickets at Kroger Field, and he said he thought Barnhart would have to leave his post before alcohol was sold to the public inside the venue.

“I thought it would take him moving on before it happened,” Wampler said. “But he changed his opinion, or at least his stance.”

Wampler said the beer he purchased about an hour before kickoff of Saturday’s UK-Ball State game may be the only one he buys all season.

He cited the cost of in-stadium alcohol, along with the fact that he can just drink at a bar or restaurant before coming to the game, as reasons why in-stadium alcohol sales isn’t a huge change to his UK football experience.

But Wampler acknowledged that selling alcohol at Kroger Field could enhance the fan experience for others.

“It might get people in earlier,” Wampler said, adding that people previously found ways to bring alcohol into Kroger Field.

The debate over whether or not to sell alcohol to the public at UK home sporting events is a sensitive topic to some.

When UK made the announcement that Kentucky Proud Park and John Cropp Stadium would serve alcohol last spring, the announcement came with a lengthy question-and-answer explanation.

“People have been having alcohol at sporting events for decades, forever,” Wampler said. “I think the people who are adamantly against it, will stay adamantly against it, no matter what. And most of us will be ... Just like a normal baseball game (as a fan).”

Already in the 2023-24 UK Athletics season, several home events for the men’s and women’s soccer teams have been held at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex with beer and seltzer products available for purchase.

But the chance for UK football fans to purchase alcohol inside Kroger Field is, obviously, a much bigger undertaking, which also comes with more options for fans.

Saturday’s announced Kroger Field attendance was 58,286 people.

Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer, Michelob Ultra, Yuengling Lager and Yuengling Flight were domestic options available for purchase.

In the craft beer category, Stella Artois, Big Kahuna and Neon Big Hug are also available, according to UK’s 2023 concessions map.

Several local beer options are also sold at Kroger Field, including Cougar Bait — made by Central Kentucky’s own Country Boy Brewing — as well as Kentucky Tangerine Cream Ale (only available in September) from Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company.

On the pricing scale, Bud Light was the cheapest option stadium-wide at $9. The most expensive beers were the Cougar Bait and Kentucky Tangerine Cream Ale offerings, both of which were $11.

Several stations around the Kroger Field concourse were of the “grab-and-go” variety, with bagged food items like chips available for quick purchase, alongside canned beers and water.

Alcohol sales inside Kroger Field were limited to a maximum of two per person, per transaction, and the alcohol sales stopped at the end of the third quarter.

Identification checks will occur at each transaction, per UK.

Kentucky’s concessions partner, Aramark, is managing the sales of beer and seltzer products at UK sports venues, as well as at other venues across the country.

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