Over $1.7 million in alcohol sales at Purdue football, men's basketball in 2022-23
Over $1.7 million.
That’s how much combined gross alcohol sales revenue Purdue athletics generated at Ross-Ade Stadium in 2022 and in Mackey Arena for men’s basketball in 2022-23. (See charts below.)
The gross alcohol sales figures in 2022 in Ross-Ade Stadium were $1,221,149.85 for six home games. That’s an average of $203,524.98 per game.
In 17 games in Mackey Arena for men’s basketball, Purdue had $546,534.01 in gross alcohol sales in 2022-23. That’s an average of $32,149.06 per game.
The combined gross sales figure was $1,767,683.86. That’s a drop from the gross sales of $1,864,225.30 in 2021-22, when there were six football games and 18 basketball games.
Football saw its per game average drop from $215,597.43 in 2021 to $203,524.98 last season. But men’s hoops saw its average increase from $31,702.26 in 2021-22 to $32,149.06 last season.
Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics compiled the data on alcohol sales at Ross-Ade Stadium and Mackey Arena in 2022-23. The information was obtained via an open records request.
The top selling 2022 football game for alcohol sales: Penn State, a night game which generated $296,291.89 for the season-opener on Sept. 1. The Nebraska game (at night) on Oct. 15 ($223,839.29) and the Iowa game on Nov. 5 ($248,817.89) also had over $200,000 in alcohol sales. None of the other three games exceeded that threshold.
The top selling basketball game for gross alcohol sales was on February 25 vs. Indiana, which had $71,853.19 in sales. Two other games had sales exceeding $40,000: Iowa on February 9 ($46,883.14) and Nebraska on January 13 ($42,499.03).
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Last year, Purdue had gross alcohol sales of $1,293,584.57 for six home football games ($215,597.43 per game). In 18 games in Mackey Arena for men’s basketball in 2021-22, Purdue had $570,640.73 in gross alcohol sales ($31,702.26 per game). The combined gross sales figure was $1,864,225.30, which came on the heels of a 2020-21 sports calendar that had no fans at games due to the pandemic.
In 2015, Ross-Ade Stadium began selling beer and wine to a select season ticket holders and VIP students who were over the age of 21. In 2017, Purdue began to sell beer and wine throughout the stadium, in concession stands and stand-alone beer vendors.
Purdue had gross alcohol sales in Ross-Ade of $567,778.76 in 2017. That number jumped to $1,063,632 in gross sales in 2018 with a seventh home game. Three night games in 2018 also likely helped sales, which are cut off at the end of the third quarter.
Eleven of the 14 Big Ten schools allow the sale of alcohol at sporting events, including Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue, Penn State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Three Big Ten schools–Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska–currently don’t permit alcohol sales but are considering changing that policy.
2022 Ross-Ade alcohol sales
| Date | Event | Total gross alcohol concessions |
| Sept. 1 | Penn State* | $296,291.89 |
| Sept. 10 | Indiana State | $150,987.18 |
| Sept. 24 | Florida Atlantic* | $191, 050.30 |
| Oct. 15 | Nebraska* | $223,839.29 |
| Nov. 5 | Iowa | $248,817.89 |
| Nov. 19 | Northwestern | $110,163.30 |
| Totals | Six games | $1,221,149.85 ($203,524.98 per game) |
2022-23 Mackey Arena men’s basketball alcohol sales
| Date | Event | Total gross alcohol concessions |
| Nov. 2, 2022 | Truman State | $10,013.25 |
| Nov. 8, 2022 | Milwaukee | $18,065.83 |
| Nov. 11, 2022 | Austin Peay | $21,166.88 |
| Nov. 15, 2022 | Marquette | $26,535.13 |
| Dec. 4, 2022 | Minnesota | $21,128.60 |
| Dec. 7, 2022 | Hofstra | $21,600.77 |
| Dec. 21, 2022 | New Orleans | $33,662.21 |
| Dec. 29, 2022 | Florida A&M | $37,596.59 |
| Jan. 2, 2023 | Rutgers | $30,966.17 |
| Jan. 13, 2023 | Nebraska | $42,499.03 |
| Jan. 22, 2023 | Maryland | $24,458.78 |
| Jan. 29, 2023 | Michigan State | $34,095.36 |
| Feb. 1, 2022 | Penn State | $36,371.35 |
| Feb. 9, 2023 | Iowa | $46,883.14 |
| Feb. 19, 2023 | Ohio State | $32,927.48 |
| Feb. 25, 2023 | Indiana | $71,853.19 |
| March 5, 2023 | Illinois | $36,710.25 |
| Totals | 17 games | $546,534.01 ($32,149.06 per game) |
