BLOOMINGTON — Beer and wine will be available to fans who are over 21 years old at IU football games for the first time.
The IU athletics department said in a release that a study by the consulting firm Wasserman found that universities that sell alcohol at the stadium improved attendance and gameday experience and showed a reduction in alcohol-related incidents and safety issues at stadiums.
Ohio State reported a 65 percent drop in alcohol-related incidents the first year it served alcohol to the general public.
“Our main goals with this initiative are to enhance the gameday experience for our fans and reduce alcohol-related incidents in and around the stadium,” IU athletics director Fred Glass said. “While there will be some comparatively modest revenue generated by these sales, that is not the primary purpose of this program. Ten percent of our net beer and wine public sales revenues will be given to campus for alcohol safety programming.”
Fans will be limited to two beverages per purchase and alcohol sales will end after the third quarter.
Five other Big Ten schools — Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois, Minesota and Maryland — sell alcohol at sporting events, and Butler serves beer at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
