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Clemson to sell alcohol at sporting events beginning Saturday: What it means for the Tigers
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- Clemson to sell alcohol at sporting events beginning Saturday: What it means for the Tigers
CLEMSON — Clemson will allow the sale of alcohol at its sporting events, changing a multi-decade stance.
The school's athletic department announced Tuesday that alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase at designated stands and kiosks in Memorial Stadium starting Saturday for Clemson football 's spring game. Beer sales will commence at McWhorter Stadium (softball) and Doug Kingsmore Stadium (baseball) starting the week of April 7.
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"We are excited to continue to expand concessions offerings and roll out this important change to our gameday experience, and we want to be thoughtful in doing so," Clemson athletic director Graham Neff said in a news release. "We have appreciated the support from several key groups to begin a safe implementation that is both fan-friendly and family-friendly. We will continue to evaluate the impacts and adapt our offerings and policies to meet the needs of our fans."
Clemson was one of three Power Four schools nationally (the others being Utah and BYU), including the only school in the ACC, SEC and Big Ten, that neither offered the sale of alcoholic beverages in its athletic venues nor accepted sponsorship revenue from alcoholic beverage advertisers.
Clemson's in-state rival, South Carolina , began selling beer and wine at football and basketball games on Jan. 1, 2020.
Clemson previously didn't sell alcohol to fans at sporting events, but luxury suites at Memorial Stadium and Littlejohn Coliseum were the exception. With the change, Clemson will align with Power Four programs as the college athletics landscape is about to shift thanks to the looming House settlement .
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A supporter for the change is Clemson baseball coach Erik Bakich . He said in January that the away team's bullpen on the third-base line will be moved into foul territory, and the old bullpen space will become a standing room-only beer garden.
"We're going to be selling beer this year, which is huge," Bakich said. "We want the rowdy crowd. We want the beer-drinking crowd. We want people to come out here and have a blast, and the opposing pitchers are going to have to get warm right in front of that section."
MORE: Clemson football season ticket prices are going up for 2025 season: What Tigers fans need to know
What alcohol sales will do for Clemson athletics?
The biggest benefit is the revenue Clemson will make, especially with schools being able to share it with student-athletes if the House settlement passes this month. It has added a student athletics fee , increased season-ticket prices for football games and unveiled a revenue-generating entity, Clemson Ventures , to help prepare the athletic department for the anticipated changes.
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Alcohol sales will be another avenue for Clemson to generate money. According to the Knoxville-News Sentinel, Tennessee sold more than 278,000 servings of beer at football games at Neyland Stadium, that generated $3.3 million in the 2022 season.
A potential negative will be a change in Clemson's family-friendly environment. Alcohol consumption can lead to erratic and dangerous behavior from people, which can taint the atmospheres at games.
What is Clemson's alcohol service policy at games?
Clemson announced alcohol sales will begin when the venue doors open, and sales cutoff times will be posted throughout the venue, followed by the warning: "No exceptions."
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For the football spring game, service will end after the third quarter. For baseball games, service will end after the seventh inning, and softball will conclude after the fifth inning.
For other sports, service will end "at a designated time no later than when 75% of the event's regulation length is scheduled to be completed."
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson approves alcohol, beer sales at sporting events
