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Published Jan 31, 2024
Beer sales coming to Sanford Stadium
Jed May  •  UGASports
Staff

A long-awaited addition is finally coming to Sanford Stadium.

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks announced on Wednesday that Georgia will be beer and alcohol to all fans at football games this fall.

Brooks said protocols surrounding alcohol sales will be similar to other sporting events. Sales will conclude at the end of the third quarter. There will be a "maximum of two purchases per individual, going through ID verification," according to Brooks during the UGA Athletic Association meeting.

"We wanted to be methodical about it, wanted to take our time to do it right," Brooks said. "It wasn’t a race to just do something without proper preparation. I felt like by having a couple years to sell it at Stegeman, do it at baseball last year, we were able to work through some of the logistical challenges of it and be better prepared. It’s not something you want to rush into it. During that same time, we were able to take a lot of notes from our peers, the things that they went through, best practices. I feel we’re ready and prepared to take that on this fall.”

Bulldog administrators have been evaluating best practices ever since other league schools began selling alcohol. Some examples include timing issues (pouring into a cup versus providing a can) and moving alcohol sale areas out of main concourse locations.

Brooks said the SEC has deregulated what kind of alcohol can be sold at events. Technically, any kind of alcohol can be sold. But he also said Georgia is focused on selling beer and "seltzer-type products."

As for pricing, Brooks said it will be "reasonable." But he also isn't concerned with the importance of alcohol being cheap.

"As much as we've talked about concessions being family-friendly and trying to take care of a family of four or five come to a game, this isn't something where I feel that price or making it cheap is important," Brooks said. "This is a luxury item, not a necessity item, so it's not going to be something we value price. It will be fair and in line with most of our peers, but this is something we put a thought process on in making it a value item."

Beer in Sanford Stadium will be sold for the first time during the home opener against Tennessee Tech on September 7.

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