Bud Light is giving away 100,000 sports tickets and free beer
Sports fans and lovers of live music could have their next tickets paid for by Bud Light under a new promotional campaign.
Bud Light said Tuesday it will pay for and give away 100,000 sports tickets so people can attend professional baseball, basketball, hockey, football and soccer games this year. The Anheuser-Busch subsidiary is also giving away an undetermined amount of concert tickets. People over age 21 who attend a game or concert will get a Bud Light for free, the company said.
Bud Light and its $10 million promotion aims to get Americans back outside and attending events where people frequently consume alcohol. Bud Light is offered at many sports arenas nationwide, so the company stands to benefit from fans returning to games.
The company has an "obligation to welcome consumers back to the places they enjoy Bud Light — their favorite bars, sporting events and live music venues — when it's safe," Andy Goeler, Bud Light's marketing vice president said in a statement.
"Bud Light knows people across America are eager to get back out there in a big way, and we wanted to serve up an offering that would help everyone have an epic summer," he said.
Sports stadiums and concert venues sat dormant for most of 2020 after state and local governments enacted stay-at-home orders during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The concert industry alone lost $30 billion in revenue due to empty venues, trade publication Pollstar reported. Sports teams also lost billions from missed sales of tickets and merchandise, but some team owners believe the nation is now turning a corner.
"I think the vaccine season has changed everything," Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Forbes last month. "I think we actually have full arenas sooner than anyone expected."
The specifics on how sports fans will get game tickets, free beer and concert passes are still being ironed out, Bud Light told CBS MoneyWatch. The company will be contacting sports teams in coming days to make a deal, then individual teams will announce on their social media platforms how fans can get free tickets.
After being dormant, a handful of sports arenas returned to life earlier this year as coronavirus testing sites. Once millions of COVID-19 vaccines became available, those arenas were then converted to vaccination hubs. Now some sports stadiums — including the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Field and the Florida Gators' Ben Hill Griffin Stadium— are fully reopening for fans.
Americans who are fully vaccinated should still wear a mask in crowded outdoor areas, according to new guidelines released Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People should also continue wearing masks in most indoor public settings, the guidelines state.
