Michigan Senate approves alcohol sales for college stadiums

On Wednesday, the Michigan Senate voted to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages at university athletic stadiums.

The move was approved by a 36-2 majority and now advances to the state House. It did so without any debate about the measure before the vote. The proposal was sponsored by Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, who said fans could “have beers in their hands in the fall.”

Recently, the attitude towards drinking at college stadiums has changed and 11 out of 14 current Big Ten members sell alcohol within campus stadiums. The only three that don’t are Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska. However, Marlon Lynch, Michigan State’s vice president and chief safety officer, says that other universities haven’t noted increases in alcohol-related issues since beginning to sell alcohol.

“They think it increases the fan experience and that actually some people have come to them kinda puzzled that they are not able to do this at Michigan venues,” McCann said.

Notably, this legislation would not force schools to sell alcohol. Instead, it would give them the opportunity to sell alcohol. To do so, the universities would still need to get all the proper liquor licenses. Still, most schools will likely do this because of the fan experience and economic opportunity involved, as Fred Schaible, assistant vice president for government relations at Western Michigan explained.

“But we do expect most to want to do this because of the fan feedback as well as the economic opportunities that it has to support the athletic programs at our institutions,” Schaible said.

Along with Michigan and Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Detroit Mercy, and Oakland are all Division I schools that would be impacted by the bill. Several of those schools have had representatives voice support for the bill.

Only two senators voted against the bill, Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, and Thomas Albert, R-Lowell. Singh, who represents the district Michigan State is in, explained that he heard from residents concerns about how drunk fans act and wanted their voices heard.

Broadly speaking, with a license to sell alcohol, the bill allows the sale of alcohol at 100 university sporting events, including football, basketball, and hockey games among others. On top of that, alcohol can be sold at an additional five, non-sporting events held at on-campus venues. That would include things like concerts.