City of Knoxville Files Silly Complaint Against Neyland Stadium Alcohol Distributor

The city of Knoxville is blaming booze for rowdy Tennessee fans. According to city officials, the Volunteers got too rowdy this fall because they were over-served, not because they watched Tennessee field its best team in decades.

The city of Knoxville has filed a complaint against Aramark, Neyland Stadium’s alcohol vendor. They allege Aramark is responsible for “disorderly behavior.” The evidence: three citations for underage drinking.

There were seven home games at Neyland Stadium in 2022. Of the approximate 700,000 fans that watched the Vols this fall, only three kids were cited for underage drinking. That’s chump change compared to the citations doled out on Keeneland Saturdays in Lexington, and yet Knoxville officials feel the appropriate response is to get alcohol out of the stadium.

In the complaint the city is seeking to suspend Aramark’s beer sales for a minimum of 60 days (a three home game suspension) or completely strip their licensing agreement. The case will be decided by a hearing officer Dec. 19. The case could be thrown out, or Tennessee fans may not get to enjoy libations in 2023 and beyond.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Aramark filed a motion Nov. 4 to strike portions of the complaint, saying the company “does not control the premises, does not provide security, does not control who may or may not enter University property, and is not authorized to remove or eject patrons from the premises.”

Beer sales to the general public have been available at Neyland Stadium since 2019. In 2021 Aramark and UT split $2.7 million in revenue from alcohol sales.

Whether you are for or against the sale of alcohol at SEC football games, this complaint is at best, ridiculous. Tennessee fans did not storm the field and tear down the goal posts because they had too many Bud Lights. They were unruly and disorderly because they beat Alabama for the first time in 15 years on a game-winning field goal. Alcohol can make people do illogical things, and in this case, it’s the city of Knoxville that’s acting irrational.