Husker fans share mixed feelings on alcohol sales in Memorial Stadium

Fans’ feelings towards alcohol sales lined up with the Board of Regent’s vote 7-1 Friday. Most of the fans the Journal Star spoke to supported alcohol sales for Husker Athletics.

Jim Toovey of Seward was one of the fans against alcohol in Memorial Stadium. He called the regent’s decision a mistake.

“They’re going to be people getting drunk and getting into fights,” Toovey said. “That’s human nature.”

Mark Wiedman, a football season ticket holder since 1974, shares Toovey’s concerns and believes alcohol in Memorial Stadium would create unruly fans, especially during rivalry games.

“I think they should have it for special events, but for home football games, I don’t think so,” he said.

Lincoln Regent Tim Clare, NU’s representative on the Joint Public Agency overseeing Pinnacle Bank Arena where the Huskers men’s and women’s basketball teams play, said Friday concerns of drunk, unruly fans never materialized.

Clare credits a safety plan at Pinnacle Bank Arena that results in steep penalties for anyone involved in an alcohol-related incident. He believes a safety plan at Memorial Stadium and the Devaney Center would have a similar effect.

Lori Lewis of Lincoln is excited to enjoy a cold adult beverage next season and feels other fans might drink less before games, knowing they can get their hands on booze during the game.

Alyssa Vetere and Tom Braun, both seniors at UNL, believed the lack of alcohol in Memorial Stadium made students pregame harder and show up to games drunk. Braun recalled seeing a drunk fan throwing up in the stadium before kickoff.

Omaha Regent Jack Stark on Friday pointed to Big Ten rival University of Iowa, who reported decreases in alcohol-related emergencies after turning the taps on in Kinnick Stadium in 2021, likely due to fans drinking less before the game.

Andy Smith of Omaha was among many fans who believed alcohol sales would be a good revenue source.

“(It’s) not something I do, but I think whatever they can do to raise money instead of what other taxes they can put on us, that’s fine,” Smith said.

In an interview last week, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen said he anticipates $3 to $4 million in gross revenue from alcohol at Memorial Stadium and the Devaney Center.

Craig Janssen and Mike Vogel, both of Lincoln, have mixed feelings with alcohol in Memorial Stadium stemming from their experiences with the two occasions alcohol was sold.

Janssen’s experience on Volleyball Day last year was impacted by trying to weave through long lines for booze to get around the stadium.

“It’s been just busy and hard to get through the crowds, get food or get to our seats,” Janssen said.

Janssen felt that if spaces could be built into the century-old stadium to sell alcohol, he’d support it more. He pointed to Pinnincal Bank Arena, designed with alcohol sales in mind and had no issues with its booze sales at men’s and women’s basketball games.

Dannen said that the infrastructure to support alcohol sales would be in the stadium’s contract with a new caterer, which could be selected by the end of the year.

Vogel remembers the other occasion when alcohol was sold in Memorial Stadium, Garth Brooks’s concert in 2021, which he described as “one of the drunkest nights I ever saw in Lincoln.”

“It was a crap show,” Vogel said. “It was horrible. The show was fun, but the town was just so drunk and unruly.”

Vogel’s experience that night concerns him with how fans will behave when the taps are on again next season.

“I’ve always kind of hit or miss because it’s great for the university to make money, but people don’t act right.”