CSU wants to sell regular beer at football games

CSU will petition Larimer County to sell full-strength beer, wine and liquor at Hughes Stadium during football games this season.

But Colorado State University Athletic Director Joe Parker says the request is meant only to allow CSU to sell stronger beer.

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“I can’t be any more clear that this is not a move to sell spirits on the concourse level,” Parker said. “We just want to vend regular beer vs. 3.2.”

The modification of the license is on the consent agenda for Larimer County commissioners on Tuesday.

Currently, wine and liquor are available only in the club and suite areas of Hughes Stadium. In the concourses, 3.2 beer is sold.

The same license is needed for the club and suite areas, Parker said.

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“As it was briefed to me, there doesn’t appear to be an interim step,” Parker said. “There isn’t a license offered to sell just regular beer.”

Regular beer is about 4.0 percent alcohol by weight, compared to 3.2 beer, which is 3.2 percent — a difference that many consider slight.

“We’ve had 30 plus years of experience vending beer and it’s been positive,” Parker said. “The incidents that we encounter related to the use of alcohol are modest — I think this past season, in a six-game home schedule, we had four incidents related to alcohol or beer.

“… It’s not a big step. It’s a small step for us to be asking for a change in the license to (sell regular beer vs. 3.2 beer).”

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Parker said that offering regular beer also gives CSU and fans options moving forward.

“In collegiate athletics, there are more than 30 schools that have beer (at games), and all are offering regular beer,” he said. “At some point in the future it might be difficult for us to source 3.2. It’s a step to put us in a position where we don’t encounter any problems with that in the future.

“…This certainly opens up a lot of variety and opportunities for other types, for sure.”

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CSU’s concessions partner who applied for the modification is Spectra, which until recently was known as Ovations.

“They are our concession partner, so they’re not going to do anything that we don’t deem acceptable or permissible,” Parker said. “… We’re just allowing for beer sales only.”

Parker said there wasn’t any significance to changing the license related to the last season at Hughes Stadium before the program begins playing football games at a new on-campus stadium in 2017.

“Our plan has always been to keep our consistent practices at Hughes at the new stadium as well,” he said.

For the final season at Hughes, the plan is only to change to full-strength beer.

“Our intent is just to sell beer,” Parker said. “I can’t highlight and underscore that enough. … Even if the license permitted that, we are not going to have spirits flowing throughout the stadium.”

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