by staff–10 Jul ’17
University of Wyoming Athletics will offer beer and wine for sale to fans at home football and basketball games beginning this coming season. Beer and wine are being offered to enhance the game-day experience for fans, to heighten the pregame atmosphere in War Memorial Stadium and the Arena-Auditorium on game days by encouraging fans to enter the stadium earlier, to create a new revenue source for UW Athletics and to benefit from other positive effects that have been seen in other college athletic venues as alcohol sales have expanded the past several years.
Benefits of Beer and Wine Sales
Positive effects that the University of Wyoming is looking to create and that other universities have experienced from offering alcoholic beverages for sale in stadiums and arenas across the country:
∙Enhancing fans’ overall experience at sporting events
∙Encouraging fans to enter venues early and help create a great pregame atmosphere
∙Generating additional revenue for athletic departments
∙Creating a more responsible drinking environment
∙Reducing binge drinking
∙Reducing the amount of concealed alcohol entering athletic venues
Enhancing the Game-day Experience
Through fan surveys, many Wyoming fans have expressed their interest in purchasing alcoholic beverages at Wyoming Athletic events. In UW Athletics’ ongoing desire to provide its fans with the best entertainment atmosphere possible, it conducted extensive research to put a plan in place making beer and wine available on game days.
In order to make the first year of beer and wine sales as enjoyable as an experience as possible for fans, Wyoming Athletics has put the following plan in place for the 2017 Cowboy Football season in War Memorial Stadium.
For fans who want to be in an alcohol-free area on game days, Section AA on the west side of War Memorial Stadium will offer an alcohol-free section.
ID Screening and Wrist-Banding Stations
∙Create an easy ID screening and wrist-banding system. Each fan wishing to purchase alcohol in the stadium on game days will have their ID checked verifying legal age and will be provided a wrist band for that game.
∙An ID/Wrist-Banding station will be available in the Pepsi Pregame Zone in the Indoor Practice Facility. This station will allow fans to enter the stadium without having to go through an ID/Wrist-Banding Station at the stadium gates.
∙Other ID/Wrist-Banding stations will be available at Gates 1, 3, 4 and 6 inside War Memorial Stadium.
Selling Locations
∙Beer and wine will be sold inside War Memorial Stadium beginning two (2) hours prior to kick off – when stadium gates open.
∙There will be 12 selling locations within War Memorial Stadium (3 on Upper East Concourse, 2 on Lower East, 3 on Upper West, 1 on Lower West and 3 in South End Zone Beer Garden area)
∙The South End Zone Beer Garden area will provide fans a chance to enjoy drinks with their friends from a field-level location while still having visibility of the field during the game. (Due to bleachers being added in the south end zone for the Oregon game, visibility from the Beer Garden for that game may be limited.)
∙Each selling location will have two serving lines — one Cash Line and one Credit Card Line. There will be three staff members at each selling location.
∙Each individual may purchase 2 drinks (beer or wine) per transaction.
∙Each wrist band will have 4 pull-off tabs, allowing each patron to purchase a total of 4 drinks during one event. In the circumstance of a football game followed by a basketball game individuals will be permitted to obtain one wristband at the football game and a wristband at the basketball game. For a men’s/ women’s basketball doubleheader only one wristband will be permitted due to the short/condensed time frame of the back-to-back games.
∙Pull off tabs will be for beer or wine purchases once an individual enters the stadium or arena.
∙Beer will be poured using the state-of-the-art “Bottoms Up” draft beer dispensing system, which fills through the bottom of specially designed plastic cups. The “Bottoms Up” system offers extremely fast pouring and minimal foam in each pour while more effectively utilizing (less waste) the beer from each keg.
∙Sales of beer and wine will stop at the end of the 3rd quarter.
∙Information gathered on fans from scanners that are part of the ID/Wrist-Banding stations will be deleted at the end of each game and will not be retained by the University of Wyoming.
ATM Machines Being Added to War Memorial Stadium
∙For fans’ convenience, both UniWyo Federal Credit Union and Western States Bank will be installing ATM machines in War Memorial Stadium prior to the 2017 football season.
Products Offered and Pricing
∙There will be a variety of beer and wine available for purchase, including: Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Blue Moon, Black Tooth craft beer (Black Tooth Brewing Co. of Sheridan, Wyo.) and , Snake River craft beer (Snake River Brewing of Jackson, Wyo.).
∙Beer and wine will be priced at $7 each. Craft beer will be priced at $8 each.
SafeRide and Local Taxi Companies Available for Transportation
∙SafeRide, the on-call public transportation service, will be available on game days to serve the needs of fans. Rides are offered to UW students, faculty, staff, and Laramie community members and visitors. During home football games, SafeRide will be located at Gate 1 (southwest corner) of War Memorial Stadium.
SafeRide’s service areas include the Laramie city limits. However, SafeRide will not pick up/drop off at specific locations within downtown Laramie. Riders wishing to be picked up/dropped off downtown will need to utilize the SafeRide office located at 3rd Street & Garfield. There is no on-board fare for utilizing SafeRide. Requesting a ride is simple. Call 307-766-7433 (307-766-RIDE) or request your ride through the Transloc Rider App.
∙Local taxi companies will also be available on game days, including Laramie Taxi (307-761-9891), Snowy Range Taxi (307-343-2323) and Yellow Checker Taxi (307-710-7177).
Rules Governing Beer and Wine Sales
∙Individuals must be 21 or older to purchase, possess or consume alcohol.
∙Patrons cannot bring their own alcohol into the stadium.
∙IDs must be checked and wristbands/hand stamps obtained before purchase of alcohol in the stadium.
∙Random ID checks may occur at beer and wine sales locations.
∙Each individual may purchase 2 drinks (beer or wine) per transaction.
∙Each wrist band will have 4 pull-off tabs, allowing each patron to purchase a total of 4 drinks during one day. In the circumstance of a football game followed by a basketball game, individuals will be permitted to obtain one wristband at the football game and a wristband at the basketball game. For a men’s/ women’s basketball doubleheader only one wristband will be permitted due to the short/condensed time frame of the back-to-back games.
∙There will be no re-entry to the stadium once patrons have entered the stadium on game days.
∙Sales of beer and wine will stop at the end of the 3rd quarter (football and women’s basketball) and at the 10-minute mark in the second half of men’s basketball games.
∙For fans who want to be in an alcohol-free area on game days, Section AA on the west side of War Memorial Stadium will offer an alcohol-free section.
Pregame Tailgating Opportunities and Pepsi Pregame Zone
∙Tailgating opportunities for fans in designated areas surrounding War Memorial Stadium and the Pepsi Pregame Zone in the Indoor Practice Facility will still be offered for the 2017 Wyoming Football season.
∙Beer, wine and malt beverages are the only alcoholic beverages permitted in the open container areas on game days. No hard alcohol is permitted and no kegs are not permitted in tailgate areas.
∙Open containers will be permitted in designated open container areas beginning at 9 a.m. for all games scheduled to kick off before 4 p.m. and Noon for all games scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. or later. Open container permits end at kickoff.
∙All tailgating activities are confined to a patron’s specific parking space(s).
∙Open containers may not be carried on or across public streets.
∙Violations of the open container permits may result in revocation of parking privileges and removal from the open container areas. Please observe any and all posted signage.
∙No Re-Entry Allowed: One change that will be in place for the 2017 season is once fans have entered War Memorial Stadium on game days if they choose to leave the stadium prior to conclusion of the game there will be no re-entry to the stadium allowed.
Entrance Lanes into War Memorial Stadium (Applicable to All Fans Attending Wyoming games.)
∙In 2017, stadium security will again be conducting bag checks as fans enter War Memorial Stadium.
∙In an effort to improve the speed of fans’ entrance into the stadium, designated lanes will be introduced this year at all entrance gates. There will be lanes for FANS WITH NO BAGS OR CLEAR PLASTIC BAGS and separate lanes for FANS WITH BAGS.
University of Wyoming Athletics looks forward to another exciting and successful season. We want all Cowboy and Cowgirl fans to have as enjoyable an experience at UW Athletics events as possible, while providing for a friendly and safe environment for fans of all ages.
