RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University has become the first Division I school in Virginia to announce beer sales to the general public at basketball games.
VCU Athletics announced the move Monday as a part of their hospitality upgrades for 2018-19 men's basketball season.
"We took a significant amount of time to make the decision to move forward on beer sales," said Ed McLaughlin, VCU Vice President and Director of Athletics. "We took input from many, many areas and spent time discussing the operational opportunities and challenges. Since we don't have experience in the point-of-sales aspect of selling beer at men's basketball games, we will evaluate our operations throughout the season and tweak where we see fit."
Beer sales will be administered by Spectra, VCU Athletics’ concessions provider.
VCU Athletic officials say security personnel will implement strict enforcement of ID checks along with a limit on purchases.
VCU’s beer sales announcement comes as the University of Richmond is also looking to sell beer to the general public at men’s basketball games this season. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the university will sell beer during games this season, pending approval from the Virginia ABC.
Forbes calls selling alcohol at college sporting events a growing trend. They attribute the trend to an attempt to generate additional revenue and enhance the fan experience.
Adding beer to the menu was one of many hospitality and concessions upgrades VCU Athletics added for the 2018-19 basketball season. The upgrades were recommended in a fan survey VCU Athletics sent to stakeholders earlier this year.
