NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- It's a practice we've seen enacted at a handful of colleges across the commonwealth and the country and now Old Dominion is joining the crowd. The Monarchs will begin selling beer and wine to fans at men's and women's basketball games.
"I think fans are accustomed to being able to have a beer and watch a game, so I think it could help from a ticket sales standpoint," said ODU Director of Athletics Wood Selig. "Let's not kid ourselves. There's a lot of revenue to be made through the sale of beer and wine at events."
Old Dominion went through a test run of the sales during the November 26 men's basketball game against Longwood. Selig noted that the pilot program went very well and there were no incidents, so the administration decided to move forward with the plan to sell alcoholic beverages during games.
"Fans have been asking for it for a long time," added Tyler Gambrell, Chartway Arena's Director of Marketing. "We've been listening and we're really excited to be able to bring this to the fans and enhance their game-day experiences."
Beer and wine will be available to the general public in Chartway Arena beginning this Saturday's men's showdown with VCU. Alcohol sales will end with ten minutes remaining in the first half of men's games and at the beginning of the fourth quarter during women's contests.
Selig added that if the sales turnout to be successful during basketball season, we could see beer and wine sold at S.B. Ballard Stadium next fall during football games.
We will have more on this during Wednesday's edition of the Old Dominion Full Court Press, which tips off at 7:45 PM on WGNT.
