State board gives final approval to beer and wine sales at Bryant-Denny Stadium

Beer and wine sales will kick off this fall in Bryant-Denny Stadium, following the state Alcohol Beverage Control board's approval of a liquor license for the University of Alabama's concessionaire.

Dean Argo, a spokesman for the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the agency gave approval to an alcohol license for the vendor at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The state approval was the final regulatory step in authorizing sales.

The Tuscaloosa City Council approved the licensing for Levy Premium Foodservice LP at Tuesday evening's weekly council meeting. Crimson Tide football, chosen by the AP as its preseason No. 1 team, opens at home at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 3, against the Utah State Aggies.

Beer and wine sales could extend to other sports venues on campus, such as Coleman Coliseum for basketball and gymnastics, and the softball team's Rhoads Stadium, according to UA officials, including President Stuart R. Bell.

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"Right now it's Bryant-Denny, but I would say probably basketball, maybe softball," Bell said. "So it will not be in all the venues. Probably some venues are not as appropriate (for beer and wine sales)."

UA had actually applied for a liquor license with the city back in February, intending to sell alcohol at Coleman, but ran aground of a city fee. Tuscaloosa and UA worked out a compromise this summer, where rather than pay the service fee, UA will donate $250,000 to the city each year from 2024-2028, designated for Tuscaloosa police officers and firefighters.

District 5 City Councilor Kip Tyner noted that the compromise made the difference in his approval. Councilor Norman Crow echoed those sentiments, having heard calls both pro and con from constituents in District 3. " ... if I did not feel comfortable this was going to be managed in the right way, I don't think I could vote for this either," Crow said.

The license appeal passed four to one, with the sole dissenting vote from Councilor John Faile, who called it "...a hard, hard decision." Two council members were absent.

The Capstone will join other Southeastern Conference schools, and dozens of other Division 1 colleges, offering alcohol concessions. Previously, liquor sales have been limited to the Founders Suite skyboxes in Bryant-Denny, but this fall beer and wine can be sold in public areas of the 100,077 capacity stadium, fourth-largest in the SEC, eighth-largest stadium in the United States, and 10th-largest stadium in the world.

The SEC lifted its ban on stadium-wide alcohol sales Aug. 1, 2019, and several schools swiftly moved ahead, based on potential for increased revenue and attendance, and reported decreases in binge drinking. A NCAA report indicated alcohol-related incidents diminished following the adoption of in-stadium public sales, "... in some cases significantly."

At the city council meeting, Tuscaloosa Police Officer Phillip Champion gave the crime report for 920 Bryant Drive, the stadium's address. A "heat map" with a quarter-mile radius of the stadium was shown, and Champion said that from July 27, 2021 to July 27, 2022, "We have no incidents listed."

Having looked at information shared by other schools that have undertaken in-stadium alcohol concessions, and members of the Tide fan base, UA concluded this was a good time to adopt the policy, Bell said.

The SEC requires these measures:

•  Alcoholic beverages can only be sold at designated stationary locations

• Alcoholic beverages may not be sold by vendors within seating areas

• An ID is required at every point of sale

• Beer and wine only; no hard liquor or mixed drinks may be sold in public seating areas

• Limits must be established on the number of drinks purchased at one time by an individual

• Alcohol must be dispensed into cups

• Staff are required to take safe-server training, and training on how to handle high-risk situations

• Designated stop times for sale and distribution of alcohol must be enforced. For football, that's the end of the third quarter; for men's basketball, the second half 12-minute TV timeout; for women's basketball, end of the third quarter; baseball, top of the seventh inning; softball, end of the top of the fifth inning; and for other sports, no later than when 75 percent of regulation length is scheduled to be done.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Board gives final approval to beer, wine sales at Bryant-Denny Stadium