Alcohol Sales are Coming to UW Football and Basketball Games
Beginning in the fall of 2017, the University of Wyoming will sell beer and wine at all football and basketball games.
In a move approved Thursday by the UW Board of Trustees, the Department of Athletics plan was submitted in order to generate new revenue and enhance the fan experience.
In a release from the University of Wyoming, Athletics Director Tom Burman said,
“Our aim is to create a more entertaining game atmosphere to encourage fan attendance while providing a safer, more controlled environment for fans who wish to purchase beer or wine beverages while attending UW events. This will result in an important new revenue stream for UW Athletics at a time of declining budgets, and it will put us in line with many of our fellow universities in the Mountain West Conference and across the country.”
Early estimates have UW’s revenues at $290,000 annually.
Wyoming joins Colorado State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV and San Diego State as institutions within the conference where beer is sold.
The University will utilize a bid process to choose a vendor or vendors to sell the beverages. They would receive a percentage of the post-sales tax revenue.
It’s anticipated that anywhere between eight and 12 stands will be located around War Memorial Stadium and four in the Arena-Auditorium.
There will be strict controls on alcohol sales and robust safety provisions. Among them will be age verification procedures, beverage sale limits, no re-entry to the stadium or arena and cutoff times for sales.