As thousands of Boise State football fans entered Albertsons Stadium for the first time in two years on Friday night, the game against UTEP might not have been the only thing on their minds.
They were ready to cheer, for certain — and they were also ready for cheers, because fans were able to buy a cold beer or two while watching the action.
The Idaho State Board of Education reversed how it managed the alcohol policies of public universities and elected to allow school presidents to make the decisions themselves. Following in the footsteps of many other colleges, Boise State had planned to sell beer in 2020, but after fans were barred from the stadium for much of the season because of COVID-19 precautions, the shift was held off until this year.
So the season’s home opener against UTEP was the first chance for the thousands of fans to imbibe, and they were treated to a 54-13 blowout win, as well as some adult beverages.
“… Drinking my first ever beer in the stadium!” one fan tweeted on Friday evening. Another fan complained that because beer was being sold at some of the same concession stands as food, the lines were getting quite long.
“Beer is clogging up all the lines. Gotta get it separated from the food,” the fan tweeted.
Cody Gougler, senior associate athletic director for external affairs at Boise State, told the Idaho Statesman by phone that he hopes the alcohol sales make it even more enjoyable for those of legal age as they give the Broncos a great home-field advantage.
“If this is going to improve the fans’ experience, we’re willing to do that,” he said.
The season’s alcoholic concessions will be an array of beer and spiked seltzers distributed by the stadium vendor, Aramark, according to a university release. The offerings include Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, Coors Light, 10 Barrel Pub beer and Bud Light Seltzer. Each drink — 15-ounce beers, 12-ounce seltzers — costs $8.
For the first 2,000 fans who entered the stadium early Friday night, beers were sold for $5.
As more schools experiment with selling alcohol, some have collected tens of thousands of dollars in sales.
Gougler stressed that the university wants fans to drink responsibly, and the stadium has initiated new policies now that alcohol is sold on the premises. Fans could leave the stadium to stop at tailgate parties before returning to their seats in years past, but this season they are denied re-entry if they leave.
He also said the school hopes that offering beer in the stadium will decrease any instances of binge drinking while tailgating, when people in the past might have thrown back multiple drinks before entering, knowing they couldn’t drink inside.
“As much as the Bronco Nation would like to enjoy responsibly on Friday night, we hope that we’ve got plenty of that for them,” Gougler said.
The university has expanded the fenced area on the eastern side of the stadium, which includes concession kiosks and a mini-pub, Gougler added.
Before purchasing alcohol, fans are required to obtain wristbands from one of four stations, where security staff check IDs.