Discussions regarding the potential sale of alcohol at the Pan American Center and Aggie Memorial Stadium for sporting events gained momentum toward the end of 2011.
The suggestion was presented to New Mexico State President Dr. Barbara Couture by the NMSU Effectiveness and Efficiency Committee. Couture then asked the University Alcohol Committee to research the topic and report back to her.
“We looked at 12 schools in the Western Athletic Conference,” said Dr. Janet Green, director of the school of Hotel Restaurant and Tourism Management, and the chair of the NMSU Alcohol Review Committee. “Of the 12, only four schools sell alcohol at athletic events. Two of the schools sell at football only; the other two schools sell at all of their athletic events.”
No consistent answer or approach was found among WAC schools, and beer sale policies ranged by university. For instance, the University of Nevada allows the open sale of alcohol to all attendees at sporting events. Fresno State also sells alcohol at games, but only in designated seating areas.
Then there are schools such as Utah State and Louisiana Tech that do not have any type of alcohol sales at sporting events. The University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) is another peer university that does not sell beer at athletic events.
Selling alcohol at Aggie games is not unheard of. In fact, NMSU experimented with the idea a few years ago.
“NMSU did allow the sale of alcohol at two men’s basketball games at the Pan American Center in 2007,” said Ben Woods, NMSU senior vice president for external relations and chief of staff. “Those sales were done through a third party ‘picnic license.’ The issue has sat dormant since that time.”
A “picnic license”, officially called a Special Dispenser Permit, is used for functions held at locations that do not have a liquor license. These temporary permits are usually used for events such as wedding receptions and community parties.
Although alcohol is not sold to general ticketholders and students at Aggie games, it does flow inside the Stan Fulton Center during football games. It is also sold at certain non-university events at the Pan Am Center.
At this point, the alcohol discussions are primarily focused on men’s basketball games in the Pan Am, but the initial suggestion from the Effectiveness and Efficiency Committee was to consider sales for football games at Aggie Memorial Stadium also.
Other universities in the region have had similar discussions to those taking place at NMSU. Up the road in Albuquerque, University of New Mexico officials fought a lengthily battle against city councilors in an attempt to sell alcohol at Lobo games.
UNM requested a waiver on a state law that bans alcohol sales within 300 feet of any school site, but the request was denied by city council. The university responded by taking the case to an arbitrator, who sided with the university and overruled the city councilors’ decision.
The university was granted its liquor license in July of 2011, and alcohol started being sold to suite and club level ticket holders at The Pit and University Stadium during athletic events. Sodexo, which is also the food service provider for NMSU, is in charge of handling the alcohol sales.
Similar battles are being fought in Arizona, where the State House of Representatives is debating over a bill that would allow beer to be sold at university-sponsored events. The decision will affect Arizona, Arizona State and other universities across the state.
As for NMSU, the decision is still pending and will continue to be discussed in the coming months.
“I would envision that the final decision will be made in the next six months,” Green said. “The process to apply and receive a governmental license from the State of New Mexico is approximately three months.”
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