Beer in Clemson's Death Valley? Clemson looks to keep family-friendly environment

Clemson looks to keep Death Valley as a family friendly environment

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Jan 26, 2018, 7:58 AM

CLEMSON – Selling alcohol at university sporting events has become the norm on college campuses around the nation, and it’s a big moneymaker for cash-strapped athletic programs. Could Clemson reverse course and serve alcohol in Death Valley?

Athletic Director Dan Radakovich said alcohol sales isn’t something that Clemson is concerned about at the moment.

“It’s certainly not a front-burner issue for us,” Radakovich said. “We’ve seen the news from around the country of other institutions implementing some version of alcohol sales, but it’s not something we have plans for currently.”

The University of Texas might be the biggest benefactor of alcohol sales during home football games. Alcohol sales jumped by 70 percent at Royal-Memorial Stadium during the 2016 football season on the University of Texas campus, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

The 2016 season was the second year that beer, wine, and liquor sales were permissible at the home stadium of the Texas Longhorns. The school took in $3.1 million in revenue on alcoholic beverages sales, the newspaper reported. That compares with $1.8 million the previous season.

Here's what the American-Statesman founded when it broke down the beer figures by most popular quaffs:

"Fans bought 98,535 Miller Lites this season compared to 62,275 sold in 2015. That alone brought in $788,280 in revenue.

"Fans bought 95,096 Coors Lights during the season, generating $761,168 in revenue. Coming in a distant third was Bud Light. Texas sold only 34,257 of those, according to UT records."

That’s a lot of beer, but Radakovich said it’s important that Clemson keep Death Valley a family-friendly place, something that is not always possible when alcohol is sold to passionate fans.

“Gameday at Memorial Stadium is unique. And it’s a very family-friendly experience,” he said. “We always want to ensure we’re doing everything we can to make the experience as great as it can be – from the time our fans leave their house until they get home – so they continue to want to be a part of it.”

Radakovich then said that the Athletic Department would continue to make Death Valley and Clemson a destination college gameday environment.

“So we’ll continue to evaluate what we do, from traffic to parking to concessions to in-game entertainment, to make sure our fans are having a positive experience,” Radakovich said.