Beginning with the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Kentucky fans will not have to leave the arena and go to a bar to toast a victory or ease the sorrow of defeat. Beer and wine will be on sale to the general public at concession stands for the first time.
A headline in The New York Times last week suggested the reason: “To Pull Fans Away From TVs, College Stadiums Open the Taps.” The story said that colleges saw alcohol sales as a way to increase attendance at games. Increasingly, schools including West Virginia, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest and Louisville are selling beer in their football stadiums.