New Univ. of Texas President Greg Fenves yesterday on his first day on the job said that he "fully supports alcohol sales" at home football games this fall, according to Brian Davis of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. All that is now required is "formal approval by the UT System and Chancellor Bill McRaven." Fenves said, "I do support beer sales at the football games. They’ve worked well at the basketball games. It’s been done at other athletic venues across the state, including UT System schools." He added, "We have very devoted fans that attend the game and expect a high-quality experience, and I think being able to serve beer to them is part of that experience.” Davis notes Texas Men’s AD Steve Patterson prior to the '14 season "tried to get alcohol sales approved for public concession stands." Alcohol is "already served in the club sections and private suites" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 6/4). In Birmingham, Cheryl Wray notes the school in '14 "began selling beer at men's and women's basketball games" then "added it at baseball and softball games" (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 6/4).
OPEN-MINDED: Fenves said that he is "open to building a replacement arena for the Erwin Center on or off campus, adding that a decision on a site needs to be made within the next year to accommodate planned expansion of the Dell Medical School." He added that a few sites on campus "could accommodate a multipurpose arena, like the Erwin Center, or a smaller one primarily for basketball." Fenves said that a multipurpose arena somewhere downtown, likely through a public-private partnership involving the city of Austin, "could be close to hotels and restaurants and 'would appeal to me very much'" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 6/4).
STRONG OPINION: UT football coach Charlie Strong yesterday before a speech to the Touchdown Club of Houston said that he "plans to keep coming back to meet with alumni, potentially to recruit and, if he has his way, to play a football game each year." He added that Houston is a "sufficiently important market to warrant more frequent visits." In Houston, David Barron notes since the end of the Southwest Conference in the mid-'90s, Texas has played in Houston "only four times" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/4).
