WSU first proposed expanding alcohol sales beyond the premium seating area in 2016

NO FEWER THAN FOUR Pac-12 schools -- Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona and Colorado -- expanded alcohol sales in their stadiums this past season. And Washington State, which was poised to be the first in the conference to do so in 2016 and again in 2017 before the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board said no, is revisiting the idea.

“We’re continuing to work on that," Washington State President Kirk Schulz told Cougfan.com in a recent, wide-ranging conversation.

"And I want readers of this to continue to understand that one of the challenges before was that the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is the one that really dictates policy. And they just were not at a point they felt comfortable having on-campus expanded alcohol sales. It’s a different board now," he noted. "There’s a political element to this, as much as there is a revenue element in a stadium. And we’re continuing to work quietly behind the scenes.”

He added, “Pat (athletic director Chun) and I have talked about this. We’re in agreement: we want to move ahead. We just want to be sure the timing is right, and that we do our job lining up the politics to make sure we’re going to be successful."

In 2016 and 2017, when WSU pushed for and appeared close to securing expanded beer sales beyond the premium seating area, the estimated revenue stream was pegged at $1 million per season. Strict protocols were in place, including no sales near the student sections or at any concessions in the fourth quarter of games.

“We can talk about it as a revenue generator, and of course that’s a positive, but we’re also competing (to get people in the stands) with 70-inch HDTV flat-screens … [Consider] the whole day-long stadium experience and to me, alcohol sales, including the ability to get some unique beers, wine, locally produced … is all an important part of what we need to be doing moving ahead," Schulz said.

Selling alcohol at college games is about enhancing the game-day experience and converting new or fickle fans into reliable ones in the stands, Emily Golembiewski, a stadium consultant, told the New York Times this past fall in story about the growing trend at college stadium. Alcohol sales to general-admission ticket holders is now believed to be in place at approximately 60 schools, or nearly half of the FBS total.

The shift, Golembiewski told the Times, “appeals to a crowd that probably isn’t going to the games right now ... And it’s not the drinking crowd, it’s actually a more social crowd.”

AS FOR THE TIMING at WSU, “I’m not comfortable at this point giving ’19 or ’20 as a date,” Schulz said. “I just want us to keep working on it -- and I think our fans should expect at some point we’re going to be successful there. And I want it to be the kind of thing that helps make people want to stay in the stadium … One of the things that makes Martin Stadium awesome – and such a difficult place for the opponent to play – is that it’s loud, but you need everybody in there.

“So for me, alcohol sales are also a competitive advantage for our team because you have people there in the third quarter ... it helps us compete a bit differently than if people are home in their recliner watching on their big screen TV -- something that’s very, very real competition for live sporting events.”

Washington State has served beer, wine and spirits in the suites, loge boxes, and outdoor and indoor club seats since 2012.

Stay tuned for more from our conversation with President Schulz

PREVIOUSLY IN OUR CONVERSATION: Timing for IPF fundraising revised, project critical to WSU