MSU approves alcohol sales at Spartan Stadium

East Lansing — Michigan State fans will likely be able to enjoy a cold beer at football games this fall after the Board of Trustees approved on Wednesday the sale of alcoholic beverages at the Spartan Stadium.

The unanimous vote means Michigan State will submit an application to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to sell alcohol at four specific home football games, including Sept. 16 against Washington, Sept. 23 against Maryland, Oct. 21 against Michigan and Nov. 4 against Nebraska.

“I travel with the football team to most of the games and for me, it's about the amenities that our fans are able to appreciate in our in our stadium,” athletic director Alan Haller said. “It’s the engagement piece, allowing options for those that want to consume alcohol safely. I've seen it done in other stadiums and I've seen it done where it adds value to the experience.

“So I really want our fans to be able to have those same amenities at our stadiums that they may have when they travel to support our team at visiting stadiums.”

With the likely approval of the license, only four Big Ten schools will have yet to approve alcohol sales at football games, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Nebraska. Northwestern and Nebraska both sell alcohol at their basketball arenas, while Wisconsin this month said it would begin selling alcohol at basketball and hockey games.

The University of Michigan is likely to follow Michigan State’s lead after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July signed legislation that would allow for the sale of alcohol in college stadiums and arenas. At the time, Whitmer described the law as a way to "curb binge drinking at college sporting events" by cutting down on excessive alcohol consumption while tailgating.

"Authorizing the legal sale of alcohol at sporting events will bring us on equal footing with other universities, help reduce the likelihood of binge drinking before games, and bring in a heck of a lot more revenue that we can use to improve the student experience,” Whitmer said in a statement after signing the legislation.

At Michigan State, the Spartans will play two home games — Sept. 1 against Central Michigan and Sept. 9 against Richmond — where the policy won’t be in place. The decision not to include the first two games revolved around the time it takes for the permits to be approved as well as making sure the stadium is staffed properly to support the sales.

“I think I wanted to start on on Day One on Game One,” Trustee Dennis Denno said. “We wanted to make sure we did this right. We wanted to make sure that it was fully staffed. We wanted to communicate with our VP of safety and security … and just make sure our campus was safe with this.

"So it was the issue of safety and security. We wanted to make sure that if people wanted to purchase alcohol in the stadium that we had the staffing to do it right, and that we had staff that was educated on how to serve alcohol in our stadiums and our arenas.

“So that was why we wanted to wait for the third home game, just to make sure we got it right and we got it safe and it was a great experience for those who want to have a beer and those who don't.”

The plan is for alcohol sales to begin in Spartan Stadium 60 minutes before kickoff and end 10 minutes into the third quarter while each person purchasing alcohol is limited to two alcoholic beverages per purchase.

Board members said they researched alcohol sales at other Big Ten universities to determine potential revenue — Michigan State is estimating it will sell about 12,000 units per game for a gross revenue of roughly $250,000 — as well as to help anticipate the number of alcohol-related incidents, such as binge drinking and arrests.

“We have some very specific data from our Big Ten colleagues that the trustees reviewed,” interim President Theresa Woodruff said, “including a 50% reduction in arrests at the University of Iowa, an 87% reduction in alcohol related incidents at games since the beginning of the sale of alcohol at Penn State. Maryland saw a 71% reduction in alcohol related incidents, and at Ohio Stadium, Ohio State University reported 32 arrests and 25 objections for citations and that's down significantly from prior events.”

While the initial push is to sell alcohol at football games at Spartan Stadium, the university intends to also apply for liquor licenses for the Breslin Center, Munn Ice Arena and Old College Field, which is where the soccer, baseball and softball teams play.