Univ. of Maryland President Wallace Loh this morning in a campuswide letter announced that the school "has submitted a proposal to sell beer and wine during athletic events at its two main campus venues, Byrd Stadium and Xfinity Center," according to Roman Stubbs of the WASHINGTON POST. The Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners, which holds final approval authority, "will address the proposal during a public hearing July 8." Should it be approved, UM "would sell beer and wine at concession stands for a one-year trial period beginning in the fall." Loh "detailed the incentives for the move, writing that it 'will enhance the fan experience.'" Loh also asserted that alcohol sales "will help reduce binge drinking." Loh wrote that no alcohol "would be sold near the student sections." Alcohol sales also "would provide the school with a new revenue stream." Loh estimates that the school "will make approximately $500,000 per year off sales and has vowed to donate all proceeds to student services such as mental health counseling, responsible drinking programs and sexual-assault awareness programs." The school "already offers alcohol in suites at Byrd Stadium and Xfinity Center" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/11). In Baltimore, Jeff Barker reports during the first year, the school "would sell beer only and allow people to purchase just one per transaction, under what it called a 'provisional' plan." Sales "would be cut off three-quarters of the way into games." After the first year, if the sales "are deemed a success, the university would add wine sales and a maximum of two beers or glasses of wine per transaction" (Baltimore SUN, 6/11).
