Kroger Field will not sell alcohol outside of suites in 2021

Only Kentucky football fans sitting inside suites at Kroger Field will be able to purchase beer and wine for the 2021 season. Fans filling the upper and lower bowls must abstain from alcohol, or continue to be sneaky on college football Saturdays.

The SEC lifted a prohibition on alcohol sales to the general public at athletic events in 2019. Athletics director Mitch Barnhart chose not to follow his peers’ lead, instead restricting alcohol consumption to luxury suite areas.

“We want people to feel that it’s a family friendly, safe place to come watch a sporting event, and the focus is the young people who play the games – and keeping the focus there,” Barnhart said in August of 2019.

When pressed, Barnhart explained why it was okay for wealthier fans in suites to consume alcohol, but not the Average Joes in the upper deck of the stadium.

“It’s an availability issue,” Barnhart said. “And it’s a little more confined in that area, fewer people in terms of responsibility. When you do the math, it’s not near the mass numbers that we’re responsible for.”

Barnhart did not take questions from reporters today about this year’s new gameday protocols at Kroger Field. Instead, deputy athletics director Marc Hill spoke to the media.

“With all the other changes we’ve got going on, we did not move into changing that yet this year,” Hill said. “I say ‘yet,’ but who knows what will happen in the future, but our discussions have not involved that heavily with that topic at this point in time. The stance of Dr. Capilouto, Mr. Barnhart and the Board of Trustees is still where it’s at for thus upcoming fall.”

Kentucky does plan on installing the infrastructure needed to serve beer and wine to fans when they attended concerts at Kroger Field next spring.

Kentucky, Alabama, Auburn and Georgia are the only SEC schools that exclusively sell alcohol to fans in premium areas of stadiums. LSU brought in $2.259 million in revenue in its first full season of alcohol sales at Tiger Stadium.

Mitch Barnhart will speak with Matt Jones on Wednesday’s edition of Kentucky Sports Radio.

Virtual Tickets

COVID-19 has moved everything online, including your Kentucky football tickets and parking passes. UK is strongly encouraging you to access your tickets and add them to your mobile wallet before you leave for Kroger Field. It’s not much different than acquiring your mobile boarding pass before taking a flight.

Some older fans might not be as technologically savvy. Do not hesitate to ask for help from your kids, neighbors or any young person that knows a thing or two about a phone. If you cannot get your tickets and parking pass to work, there will be officials to assist fans around the Kroger Field complex.

You can seek out more information on mobile ticketing, but before you click, try to download the tickets yourself right now. The task may appear daunting, but it’s simple once you get the hang of it.