Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium likely won't see venue-wide alcohol sales anytime soonGETTY IMAGES
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said there has been "ongoing dialogue" about the conference's stance on alcohol sales in its football stadiums, though it "hasn’t produced change at this point" among its membership, according to Blake Toppmeyer of the Knoxville NEWS SENTINEL. Alabama AD Greg Byrne earlier in the week at the SEC meetings in Destin, Fla., said there has been "very little" dialogue about the topic. Florida AD Scott Stricklin added, "I don’t see us opening up (alcohol sales) across the stadium anytime soon, as a league." Vanderbilt AD David Williams said that it "could be beneficial for the SEC to more clearly define what areas fall under the rule's exemption as a private area where alcohol can be sold." He said the conference must make sure its leaders are "all on the same page on those exceptions, if you want to call them that." Williams: "I don’t think you’ll see a change as it relates to public sales. I don’t think you’ll see that we’ll have mass alcohol sales in the stadium. I just think it’s how we actually define where in the stadiums it could occur." Asked how close the conference is to a vote, Sankey said, “It hasn’t happened so far. Perhaps every day we’re closer, but that doesn’t mean we are" (Knoxville NEWS SENTINEL, 5/31).
GOOD WITH MODERATION? In Baton Rouge, Scott Rabalais wrote this is a time when schools are "squeezing every imaginable revenue stream to fuel" their budgets. That makes it all the more "stunning that a majority of schools have resisted the temptation to belly up to the bar," as the revenue alcohol generates is "significant" (THEADVOCATE.com, 5/30).
