REPORT: SEC lifts ban on stadium-wide alcohol sales

Time to retire the flasks.

The Southeastern Conference spent the final day of its meetings in Destin, Fla., voting to lift the ban on stadium-wide alcohol sales, with restrictions, effective, Aug. 1.

The report was confirmed to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey shortly after news broke.

The lifted ban does not guarantee every stadium in the conference will sell alcohol. It is up to each individual university to implement alcohol sales in each of its stadiums.

“Our policy governing alcohol sales has been a source of considerable discussion and respectful debate among our member universities in recent years,” said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey in a news release given to media members at the meetings. “As a conference, we have been observant of trends in the sale and consumption of alcohol at collegiate sporting events and have drawn upon the experiences and insights of our member schools which have responsible established limited alcohol sales within controlled spaces and premium seating areas. We remain the only conference to set forth league-wide standards for the responsible management of the sale of alcoholic beverages.

The restrictions, which include individual purchase limits and mandatory stop times for each major sport, can read in full below:

• Alcoholic beverages are to be sold and dispensed only at designated stationary locations
• Alcoholic beverages ma not be sold by venders within the seating areas
• Identification check is required at every point of sale to prevent sales to minors
• Alcoholic beverage sales are limited to beer and wine only (no hard liquor or mixed drinks may be sold in public seating areas)
• Limits must be established on the number of drinks purchased at one time by an individual
• Alcohol must be dispensed into cups
• Safe server training and additional training for staff to handle high-risk situations is required
• Designated stop times for sale and/or distribution of alcohol must be enforced as follows;
  • Football (end of 3^rd quarter)
  • Basketball (Men’s—Second half 12-minute TV timeout; Women’s —End of 3rd quarter)
  • Baseball (end of the top of the 7th inning)

Photo Courtesy of LSU Sports Information