Indiana AD Fred Glass Hints at Beer Sales at Memorial Stadium on The Kent Sterling Show
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Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass gives a tour of the SEZ in 2017. Image: Alex Compton Hoosier Huddle
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Alcohol sales at Memorial Stadium and other IU athletic events have long been a source of debate. On Thursday afternoon Indianapolis radio host Kent Sterling asked Indiana athletic director Fred Glass about the potential of beer sales at IU.
"I think that it probably will. We are not ready to make an announcement yet" Glass told Sterling when asked about it ever happening at Memorial Stadium. Many schools in the Big Ten including Purdue and Ohio State already serve beer around the stadium. Glass said the decision is up to the university and is "above my pay grade".
Glass acknowledged the importance of football revenue and said that schools like Michigan and Ohio State make more money during one football game than IU would over a seven-game home slate. With that being said Glass said, "the revenue is not as important as the game experience. People want to come and have a couple beers".
One of the arguments against having beer sales at college football games is that it would encourage rude behavior and ruin the environment for some fans. Glass said he has looked at how other schools have implemented alcohol sales and has taken note. "I think the successful way has been introduced at other schools and their experiences, they see an actual lowering of alcohol negative related incidences," Glass added that "there are things we can do to create a nice experience for people that want to enjoy it and be responsible and actually improve on some of the negative alcohol incidences that we, unfortunately, have now".
Currently Indiana Athletics has opened up the Henke Hall of Champions to fans who purchase season tickets in the club section. This package includes amenities such as "beer and wine" for purchase. This ticket package can be purchased for $800 and also includes food and non-alcoholic beverages as well as private bathrooms and access to the Henke Hall of Champions in the North End Zone facility.
Fans can listen to the Kent Sterling show weekdays from 3-6pm in Indianapolis on 1430am and can read his work on KentSterling.com.