Officials from Ohio State and Levy Restaurants have "learned from the experiences" of alcohol sales at Ohio Stadium last season, when fans, "especially the younger ones who dominate the south stands, took advantage of the policy that allowed adults to buy two beers at a time" to make purchases for underage friends, according to Tom Knox of COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST. OSU and Levy on Wednesday said that fans in the south stands for the seven home games in '17 "will be limited to just one beer per visit." In the stadium's first year of selling alcohol, fans spent $1.1M on "beer at Ohio Stadium last season, and there are new local beer options this season," including from local craft brewers Four String Brewing, Columbus Brewing and Land-Grant Brewing. OSU Police Chief Craig Stone said that the stadium "saw fewer incidents last year even after opening up alcohol sales." Meanwhile, OSU Associate AD/Ticketing & Premium Seating Brett Scarbrough "warned fans not to take photos of their tickets and post them on social media." The barcode exposure "can be flaunted by scammers." During non-conference football games, "about 40 to 50 fans are turned away at the gates because their tickets aren’t valid." One other thing that "won't be at Ohio Stadium this year is Wi-Fi, whose planned addition remains tabled and mired in a federal lawsuit" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/6). In Dayton, Dan Eaton noted big brands like Miller Lite, Coors Light and Bud Light accounted for "about three-quarters" of the beer sales at Ohio Stadium last season. But in "fairness to the local craft brands," those macro beer brands are "sold throughout the stadium," while the craft offerings were at only about 20% of concession sites (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/7).
