COLUMBUS – For the first time, Buckeye football fans will be able to do something inside Ohio Stadium they have done in great numbers in the parking areas, bars and outdoor parties outside the Horseshoe: Hoist a cold one. Or two.
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OSU will begin a pilot program selling beer and wine in specifically limited areas inside the stadium during football games this fall, Gene Smith, vice president and director of athletics, announced Friday.
Sales will be allowed in the stadium’s 81 suites and to fans in 2,700 club seats, a total of 4,370 of the stadium’s 104,944 seats.
“The safety and well-being of our campus community is our first priority and the university will carefully monitor and assess the pilot program throughout the season,” Smith said.
The decision was made in consultation and with input from appropriate stakeholders, including the Athletics Council, said Smith.
The decision reflects a growing trend among schools of allowing alcohol sales at football games.
Alcohol has been available at The Schottenstein Center’s 5,632 suites and club seats since it opened in 1998 for men’s and women’s basketball and hockey games.
This summer, the university allowed beer and wine sales in Ohio Stadium at The Rolling Stones, Buckeye Country Music Fest and One Direction concerts along with the Cleveland Browns Orange and Brown Scrimmage.