Ohio State Univ. VP & AD Gene Smith last year said that he "was against alcohol sales at Ohio Stadium for football games," but on Friday acknowledged that he "has changed his mind, in part for economic reasons," according to Todd Jones of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Smith said, "There’s a changing landscape around resources. We need to think about other opportunities to generate revenue for our athletes and our institution.” Jones noted OSU "will sell beer and wine in limited areas during the Buckeyes’ seven home games, beginning on Sept. 12 against Hawaii." OSU on Friday announced that fans in the stadium’s 81 suites and 2,700 club seats "will be able to purchase beer and wine." Those areas "include 4,370 seats," or about 4% of the stadium’s capacity. Smith: “Our primary objective is to respond to our customers." He said that projected revenue from limited alcohol sales "hasn’t been determined -- pricing hasn’t been set -- but 'we know it will be a good number.'" Smith last month said that he "estimated beer sales would generate" at least $1M, although OSU "would receive only a portion of that revenue as part of its concessions contract with vendor Levy Restaurants." Smith said that OSU considered "'for a brief moment' the idea of selling alcohol throughout Ohio Stadium." Smith: “I don’t think we’re ready to go toward the outside (with alcohol sales)" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 8/22). Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Brendan Quinn cited two Univ. of Michigan officials -- one from athletics, one from university affairs -- as saying there are "no discussions of this that we are aware of," when it comes to selling alcohol at Michigan Stadium (MLIVE.com, 8/22).
MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: In Columbus, Evan Weese noted OSU has "benefited" from summer concerts by the Rolling Stones and One Direction, as well as the Buckeye Country Superfest in June, all held at Ohio Stadium. OSU Associate VP/Business & University Advancement Xen Riggs said that the school "finished the summer with a profit from [the] three shows together." OSU "made about $600,000 on the Rolling Stones show, putting that windfall toward one-off expenses such as athletics building maintenance" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/21).
