Haymarket Park likely won’t serve beers for Nebraska games

Despite recent optimism among Husker leadership that alcohol sales at Haymarket Park could become a reality for the stretch run of the season, the topic almost certainly won’t even reach a Board of Regents vote later this month.

The hangup arose in revenue-sharing discussions with Nebco Inc., which owns the other ballpark tenant in the Lincoln Saltdogs, an independent professional team. Nebraska offered a 50-50 split on its alcohol sales while Nebco stayed firm in receiving 90% of the take.

“The regents were pretty clear — we should at least get 50% of the net,” said Doug Ewald, NU executive associate athletic director and chief financial officer. “Honestly, if I really read the contract, I’d argue we should get 100% of the net because it’s a concession.”

Multiple factors complicate the discussion. Nebraska has a 90-10 agreement for alcohol sales at Pinnacle Bank Arena, a number the department moved forward with in part to secure additional transaction data to use for a future contract renewal. NU also doesn’t pay any maintenance or capital construction costs at PBA — at Haymarket Park, it splits all such bills evenly with Nebco.

The Saltdogs have offered alcoholic beverages for more than two decades. On May days when their games follow Nebraska, they roll out beer carts and activate their own delivery systems in a matter of hours. The athletic department has also considered selling only cans — Creighton, for example, told Ewald 90% of its alcohol sales at baseball games are cans — but can’t do so unilaterally because the Saltdogs control concessions. The pro team awarded the contract to Premier Concessions in 2019.

The industry standard in such situations vary, with only sporadic public information readily available. A Forbes article from 2016 said 22% is a common number for schools to receive in alcohol sales when working with concessionaires. Minnesota football in 2013 renegotiated from 22.5% up to 35% after losing money in its first season. Tennessee football in 2021 evenly split alcohol sales venue with its partner. In both cases those teams own their own stadiums.

In the entertainment industry, a common percentage for a major music venue to keep is 80-90%.

The relationship between Nebraska, the Saltdogs and the City of Lincoln is unusual in its three-party nature. All agreed to a 35-year contract in 2000 with the city owning the land and ballpark while the two teams effectively run it and upgrade it together as they see fit.

Sides don’t decide on term extensions until September 2034. Jim Abel has been the Saltdogs owner throughout while NU leadership has turned over multiple times since the park opened in June 2001.

“Good people over there to work with, that’s for sure,” Ewald said. “Appreciate the Abels and what they’ve done not only for baseball but the campus in general. But that’s the reason I’m here because prior people inked bad deals. We love the facility and we want to be there. But there are some business terms at the end of the day that the Board of Regents have said we’re not going to budge on.”

Negotiations on Nebraska adding alcohol sales could theoretically resume at any time, Ewald said. For it to be in place this season, though, an agreement would need to happen by Friday ahead of the regents meeting April 19.

The athletic department has incorporated alcohol sales into other events already. The 2022 Big Ten wrestling tournament at Pinnacle Bank Arena was a landmark moment in that regard. PBA recently completed its second season offering drinks at Husker basketball games. Two Memorial Stadium events — the Garth Brooks concert in August 2021 and Volleyball Day in August 2023 — also offered beer.

“We’ve got to try to be collaborative and get to the right answer,” Ewald said. “I don’t know what it is that moves the needle — I’m hopeful we can get there down the road. But it’s a little frustrating.”