It’s Official: Texas to Sell Beer, Wine at Sporting Events Beginning Friday

The University of Texas Athletics department officially announced that is will be selling beer and wine at Texas athletic events on a trial basis this spring, starting with sales at the softball tournament at Red and Charlene McCombs field which begins on Friday.

Here is the full statement from the athletics department:

Public beer and wine sales at select UT Athletics spring sports events will begin tomorrow at Red & Charline McCombs Field when Texas Softball hosts the Texas Invitational.

“This trial will be in effect this spring for all remaining men’s and women’s basketball, softball and baseball games, and the fan fest area at the Texas Relays,” said UT Men’s Athletics Director Steve Patterson. “We could look into expanding it for other sports events next fall provided the outcome of the trial is positive.”

At the conclusion of the 2014 spring sports seasons, UT Athletics, UT Police, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and UT Athletics concessionaire Sodexho Sports and Leisure will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the trial to determine if alcohol should be sold at other sporting events. The evaluation will include information from UTPD and the TABC to ensure there has been no adverse community impact.

The beer and wine trial will not include the spring football game on April 19 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The beer and wine sales had been reportedly been set to be begin earlier this week. But this news makes it official.

The vending of alcohol at college stadiums has become a recent trend among large state schools. Many colleges and universities, including at the University of Hawaii, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Colorado and Michigan have joined this trend and begun the retail of alcohol within their stadiums. And with new athletic director Steve Patterson taking the reins in November of last year, there’s been a strong push to begin the selling of beer at UT sporting events.

It is still unclear whether other sports venues and athletic events, including football, will sell beer as well.

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