Western Kentucky Now Selling Beer At Football Games

WBKO.com

http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/172119381.html

WK has now become the second Kentucky university behind Louisville to sell beer at athletic events.

The Athletic Department is saying the reaction has been nothing but positive.

“It’s something that our fans wanted, it’s something that they’ve become accustomed to at many of the other venues that they go to,” WK Athletic Director, Todd Stewart says.

Stewart says since beer has been sold at places like the Hot Rods games and SkyPAC, fans have been requesting to have it on the WK concession menu for years.

However, he says it’s most important to do so safely.

“You can’t buy more than two beers at one time, we’re cutting off sales after the third quarter, and in order to buy beer you have to get a non-transferable bracelet, and have your photo id before hand,” Stewart says.

Even with record-breaking attendance at the last home game against Southern Miss, police say, safety has yet to be an issue.

“We were kind of nervous about the alcohol sales at first, not to say something won’t happen we still have several games left, but so far everything’s going well,” Officer Mandy Johnson with WK Police says.

And the option to have beer at the game helps several tailgaters get there by kick-off.

“Usually before they had beer people would tailgate and drink their beer in the red cups, cover it up in the parking lots and whatnot, but now that beer is sold in the stadium it’s bring more people in,” says WK Freshman, Gloria Akakpo.

“This might just bring more people into the game, where they can drink once they’re inside of the stadium,” Officer Johnson says.

While a few fans don’t like the new menu choice.

“Some are taking advantage of the situation. I personally am not a fan of alcoholic beverages,” WK Junior, Austin Stauffer says.

Others say it’s one reason for the crowd.

“There’s a lot of people who come to the game more. I don’t know if it’s for the beer or because we win more,” WK Freshman, Jonathon Swihard says.

Police say, even with a bigger crowd, they don’t expect much of a problem the rest of the season.

Those with the Athletic Department say they won’t be selling beer at Diddle Arena for basketball games this year, but beer will be on the menu during baseball season.