HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall University officials are considering joining a growing list of schools that offer alcohol sales at football games.
Officials within the Marshall athletics department confirmed they are exploring beer sales at Joan C. Ewards Stadium, as a means to enhance the gameday experience and generate additional revenue in light of TV contract reductions.
The process remains in the preliminary stages and Marshall officials said they are doing their due diligence before formulating a proposal.
A recent survey distributed by the Big Green Club sought to gauge fan interest in beer sales at the stadium. The survey asks if they support beer sales at the stadium. It also asked if they favor a “no re-entry” policy for football games. Athletic officials declined to specify if the survey revealed a strong sentiment from fans on alcohol sales.
The survey comes after Marshall and the 12 other members of Conference USA are bracing for a reduction in the amount of dollars each school receives from the league’s television rights deal. C-USA’s rights fees will reportedly take 50 percent hit under the league’s new contracts. According to the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, that would equate to a $500,000 cut in revenue for each school.
Beer sales are an option to recoup some of that lost funding.
West Virginia University implemented beer sales at Milan Puskar Stadium in 2011 and it has been a revenue generator for the athletics department. WVU Athletics Director Shane Lyons told the New York Times this year “approximately $500,000 a year just in beer comes back to us.”
While Marshall couldn’t realize a half-million dollars in revenue each year from beer sales, a more apt comparison is fellow Group of 5 school, Troy University.
In a 2014 ESPN.com article, Troy athletics director John Harwell said beer sales accounted for $200,000 in commissions. Troy’s contract with concessionaire Sodexo allows Troy to receive 43 percent of gross beer sales at its 30,000-seat stadium.
Sodexo also handles concessions at Marshall.
Currently, 34 schools across the country offer alcohol sales to general admission fans. Of those, only seven are in one of the Power 5 conferences. C-USA members North Texas, UTEP, Western Kentucky and Texas-San Antonio already offer alcohol sales to general admission fans.
Limited alcohol sales are available at Edwards Stadium, but only to season ticketholders in the stadium’s chair-back section, who can purchase beer and wine in the Big Green Room but are not permitted to take their drinks out of the room. Alcohol is also permitted, but not sold, in the stadium’s suites.