Officials: No Problems From Stadium Alcohol Sales

By Kayleigh Jackson

Miami University journalism student

Beer will continue to flow at Yager Stadium and in exclusive suites at Goggin Ice Center, but it will be at least another year before alcohol is served at Millett Hall, Miami University officials say.

Since Miami began selling beer at athletic events, there have been no reports of misconduct to Miami University Police Department, says Claire Wagner, director of communications at Miami.

Since 2015, Miami University has acquired liquor licenses for three of its major sporting venues: Yager Stadium, Millett Hall, and Goggin Ice Center.

According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, Miami has five liquor licenses -- the three sporting venues, Marcum Hotel and Conference Center, and a conglomeration of other business-related buildings on campus, including Armstrong Student Center and Shriver Center.

Beer was sold at all home football games in the 2016-2017 season, while a pilot was run a year earlier of selling beer at Goggin in some suites.

Wagner says that former president David Hodge approved of the idea to provide an alternate space for weekend drinking for students.

“When you introduce alcohol to athletic events, you’re kind of changing the culture,” Wagner says.

Before coming to Oxford, MUPD chief John McCandless worked at Michigan State University and saw tailgates where as many as 30 students were hospitalized for excessive alcohol consumption. He says that Miami is taking steps to prevent that from happening here.

Those steps include giving wristbands to over-age fans at the stadium entrances, selling water at the same place beer would be sold, a poster and social media campaign based around the slogan “Safe and Smart,” and ensuring all volunteers and concessions workers go through vigorous training.

McCandless says sporting events provide “a chance for students to see good modeling behavior from adults who aren’t being silly or causing problems” when they’re drinking.

Beer prices are high to discourage excessive drinking. Domestic beer costs $7, imported beer costs $8, and craft beer costs $9. Wagner said these prices are less than what neighboring schools, such as the University of Dayton and the University of Cincinnati, charge, but it is still higher than what beers cost at the bars uptown.

It is still too soon to determine if there has been a significant change in student attendance at the games due to the change in alcohol policy, Wagner says.

Photo: A football game at Miami's Yager Stadium, where alcohol was sold for the first time during the 2016-2017 football season. -- Photo via Wikimedia Commons