Stadium Beer Sales A Success For Northern Illinois
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) -- Northern Illinois University officials say a decision to sell beer at Huskie Stadium during football games is paying off monetarily and in public safety.
University police Cmdr. Don Rodman said alcohol-related calls during games have dropped since beer sales began in the second week of the football season. Rodman and senior associate athletic director John Cheney believe the drop is due to fans not binge drinking before going into the stadium.
Calls in the past usually came before the game during tailgating or in the first quarter, Rodman said.
There are three spots on the stadium's west side that sell beer. Rodman said there haven't been any alcohol-related calls on that side of the stadium so far this year.
In previous years, there would tend to be one or two such calls each game from the west side, Rodman told the (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle. A few more would come from the east side, where the student section is located.
Beer sales will stay on the west side of the stadium for now, Cheney said.
"When you have a defined population that's underage, you have to be sensitive to that," he said.
Cheney said there has been a profit from the sales. According to Cheney, Sodexo, which provides concessions, couldn't give an exact number, but said beer sales rose 30 percent from first game to the second.
The university plans to continue selling beer during men's and women's basketball games, Cheney said.
Copyright The Associated Press.