Discussions about whether to let the beer and wine flow at Pinnacle Bank Arena during Husker men’s and women’s basketball games have been ongoing for years.
Now, just weeks ahead of the tipoff of the 2022-23 seasons, those talks could become a reality.
“The time just seems right to us to move forward with this now,” University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green said.
The NU Board of Regents and Lincoln City Council will consider amending an agreement to allow for the sale of beer, wine and liquor at Husker games hosted at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the next two years.
Regents will take up the issue on Sept. 30 at a meeting to be held on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus, while the Lincoln City Council will consider it in the coming weeks.
For the university, allowing the Husker faithful to buy and consume alcohol at a game is a way of meeting fans’ evolving expectations, while the expanded sales at the arena will provide a financial bump for the city.
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According to the amended agreement between both parties included in the regents’ board agenda, 90% of the net revenue from beer, wine, and alcohol sales at Husker games will be returned to city coffers, while the remaining 10% will be funneled to the university.
Husker athletic director Trev Alberts said UNL estimates it will receive roughly $100,000 from liquor sales — an amount that pales in comparison to the revenue potential of a new multimedia rights deal the Athletic Department announced with PlayFly, also on Thursday.
“We’re not serving alcohol at Pinnacle Bank Arena to see how much money we can make,” Alberts told reporters.
If the deal seems lopsided in favor of the city, that’s because Lincoln, through ASM Global, the firm it hired to manage Pinnacle Bank Arena, bears the cost of running the venue.
Alcohol will be served at Husker basketball games under the arena’s liquor license, as well as at the expense of its alcohol liability insurance policy, which is in the amount of $10 million, and by its staff, which are trained to prevent underage drinking or from overserving patrons.
The city also retains responsibility for choosing what concessions are sold at Husker home games, including all alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, through the university can provide input in what those items may be.
The responsibility for setting prices and ensuring adequate staffing to handle Husker fans’ hunger and thirst also falls under the city’s purview, according to the agreement.
That all of those factors come baked into UNL’s partnership with Pinnacle Bank Arena made sense for the Athletic Department to try offering alcohol at Husker contests for the first time, Alberts said.
The two-year agreement — the item to be considered by regents calls for revisiting the deal at the conclusion of the 2023-24 basketball season — will allow the department to see if it makes sense to continue doing so in the future.
Or if it would make sense to expand alcohol sales to other venues, Alberts said.
Unlike many other collegiate athletics venues where alcohol was introduced in order to boost revenue streams, Alberts said the Huskers’ dedicated fan base hasn’t needed beer sales to fill stadiums and arenas.
At his previous job as athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, for example, Alberts said the decision to sell alcohol at Baxter Arena for Maverick athletics was made for business reasons.
“If alcohol wasn’t part of it, our numbers would have looked significantly different,” he said of UNO’s agreement with its concessions vendor.
Since first being introduced at football stadiums or basketball arenas around the country, more athletic departments have evolved from viewing alcohol as a source of revenue to an option fans have come to expect, Alberts said.
“At our level, you’re not naïve to the revenue opportunity, but that’s not the driver,” Alberts said. “It’s a fan amenity.”
Alberts said the success of alcohol sales at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which were hosted by UNL at Pinnacle Bank Arena in March, helped clear the way for the same to take place in the upcoming hoops seasons.
There were no incidents reported during the event, Alberts said, and there was little in the way of binge drinking, while the revenue generated was enough to offset the expenses of holding the meet at the arena.
That gave the university confidence it could work for basketball. But, at least for the time being, that’s where the beer sales will stop.
NU President Ted Carter, who pledged to bring any expansion of alcohol sales at Husker home games to the Board of Regents for their approval, said there are no plans to open the taps at other venues in the near term.
“We have the benefit of seeing this as a two-year pilot,” Carter added. “We’ll make sure we’re paying attention to the details and the data to see how it’s going. Every venue is different and has different complexities, so if it makes sense and it’s right for the fan experience, we’ll take a look at it.”
But, as the university announced its intention to begin planning for a major renovation of Memorial Stadium, administrators said they will consider if and how alcohol sales could be offered at Husker football games in the future.
“That’s got to be part of all of it,” Alberts said.
As the Athletic Department weighs the pros and cons of keeping concessions in-house or hiring a vendor, considers what facility upgrades may be needed to keep the stadium viable for a second century and listens to what fans need, Alberts said alcohol is on the table.
“These are all questions that we have no agenda behind, but I think it’s a real opportunity for us,” he said, adding: “We would never even consider alcohol sales in the stadium until you have the infrastructure in place.”
Currently, there’s no way to integrate it into the existing concession stands and a spotty wireless internet connection could make it difficult for vendors to sell from other stands in the concourse, Alberts said.
And, while fans of Garth Brooks were able to buy beer when the country music icon hosted a concert in Memorial Stadium, Alberts said the experience offered a pretty clear look at how prepared Husker Athletics would need to be when it comes to allowing alcohol sales in the venue.
“We’re not ready,” he said. “Did I say that too fast?”
Top Journal Star Photos for September

Sam Simpson on Friday walks through a field of U.S. flags set up in memory of those who died on 9/11, Friday, Sept. 9. Volunteers placed 2,977 flags at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus and wrote thank you cards for local firefighters, law enforcement and residents at the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Healthcare System.

A Nebraska fan reacts to a missed field goal as time expired in the Huskers’ 45-42 loss to Georgia Southern on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska wide receiver Trey Palmer (3) can’t pull in a pass against Georgia Southern on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Memorial Stadium.

Lincoln Southwest’s Jack Baptista (3) dives for the pylon against Lincoln East on Friday, Sept. 9, at Seacrest Field.

Lincoln North Star’s Dylan Hallett (3) tackles Kearney’s Kole Throckmorton (91) on Thursday, Sept. 8, at Seacrest Field.

Aurora’s Carlos Collazo (left) is tackled by Ashland-Greenwood’s Logan Sobota (center) and Thomas Spears (right) during a run in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 9, in Ashland.

Ashland-Greenwood’s Dane Jacobsen practices throws during warmups before the Bluejays’ game against Aurora on Friday, Sept. 9, in Ashland.

A look at Nebraska’s light show after the third quarter of the Georgia Southern game Saturday, Sept. 10, at Memorial Stadium.

Scott Frost enters a truck to exit Memorial Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 11, after he was fired as Nebraska’s head football coach.

Eli Soell of Lincoln (right) celebrates a Nebraska touchdown against Georgia Southern on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Memorial Stadium.

Georgia Southern’s Kyle Vantrease leaps over Nebraska’s Ernest Hausmann (bottom left) and Luke Reimer (bottom center) to score the game-winning touchdown on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska’s Kaitlyn Hord celebrates after scoring a point against Long Beach State on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska volleyball head coach John Cook (left) talks with Tyler Hildebrand, Long Beach State’s head coach and a former assistant at Nebraska under Cook, on Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Devaney Sports Center.

S-E-M’s Creyton Line (left) grabs the helmet of Parkview Christian’s Alex Rohrbaugh on Friday, Sept. 9, at Larry and Carol Frost Field.

Nebraska head coach Scott Frost walks off the field after the Huskers lost to Georgia Southern on Saturday, Sept. 10, at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska’s bench reacts to a play during the match against Creighton on Wednesday at CHI Health Center Omaha.

Nebraska’s Lindsay Krause (22) hits a ball past Creighton defenders on Wednesday at CHI Health Center Omaha.

A airman walks along the wing of now retired WC-135C/W, during a retirement ceremony for the final “nuke sniffer” aircraft used by The Fightin’ Fifty-Fifth at the Lincoln Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Lincoln, NE. The WC-135 Constant Phoenix is a special-purpose aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter and used by the United States Air Force. Its mission is to collect samples from the atmosphere for the purpose of detecting and identifying nuclear explosions. It is also informally referred to as the “weather bird” or “the sniffer” by workers on the program and international media respectively. The 55th Wing will retired one of it jets and welcomed its latest during a 1 p.m. ceremony at the Lincoln Airport. The Fightin’ Fifty-Fifth officially retired the WC-135C/W and officially welcomed WC-135R tail number 4836 to its fleet. Tail 4836 is the first of three WC-135R deliveries to the wing, while tail 2667 is the last of the old WC-135C/W fleet to be retired.

Shawna Fosket holds a Super Punch, a punch needle tool she’s worked to develop. A Kickstarter campaign has raised almost $6,000.
Lincoln High’s Faith Van Eck (left) attempts to block Lincoln Northeast’s Genna LeMay in the second set at Lincoln Northeast on Tuesday.
Nebraska’s Nicklin Hames (center) reacts after a serve by Lexi Rodriguez (right) won the second set for the Huskers at the Devaney Sports Center on Saturday.
Nebraska’s Bekka Allick (left) and Nicklin Hames celebrate after a Husker kill against Mississippi in the second set at the Devaney Sports Center on Saturday.

Nebraska linebacker Ernest Hausmann takes the field before the game against North Dakota on Saturday. Hausmann, a true freshman, played 40 snaps in the game.
Nebraska edge rusher Garrett Nelson walks off the field after the Huskers’ win against North Dakota on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska running back Ajay Allen celebrates his fourth-quarter touchdown against North Dakota on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
A first-quarter moon rises over Memorial Stadium toward the end of the Nebraska-North Dakota game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s Anthony Grant (left) tries to break loose from North Dakota’s Marcus Vaughn-Jones (9) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska coach Scott Frost talks with North Dakota coach Bubba Schweigert before Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium.
Fans arrive at Memorial Stadium before the North Dakota game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska head coach Scott Frost high-fives a young fan before the North Dakota game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Lincoln High players Adonis Hutchinson (2), Javon Leuty (22) and Beni Ngoyi (8) walk out of the tunnel before taking on Omaha Northwest on Friday at Beechner Complex.
Lincoln Southeast’s Henry Woods (top) is brought down by Lincoln East’s Carter Tempelmeyer on Friday at Seacrest Field.

Mario Garcia of Lincoln, a passenger on the first flight to Houston early Friday, picks up souvenirs at Lincoln Airport’s first flight ceremony.
Lincoln North Star’s Jace Coleman (14) is tackled by Lincoln Northeast on Thursday at Seacrest Field.
Lincoln North Star players celebrate after winning a softball game against Lincoln Pius X Thursday at Doris Bair Softball Complex.

Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez (center left) and Madi Kubik (top right) celebrate with their team Kubik’s match-ending kill against Loyola Marymount on Thursday at the Devaney Sports Center.

Nebraska’s Madi Kubik (top left) reacts after a kill by teammate Lindsay Krause (center) against Loyola Marymount on Thursday at the Devaney Sports Center.

Danish artist Julie Sass works Wednesday to assemble her show, “IMAGE: temporary constellation,” at Fiendish Plots at 2130 Magnum Circle.

Construction of the new football training complex has progressed to the point that fans will be able to access the northeast corner of Memorial Stadium this season.

State Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln (left) is cheered on by her husband Mark Geist as she announces her bid to be Lincoln’s next mayor on Wednesday at MoMo Pizzeria & Ristorante.

Supporters of Earnest Jackson, including cousin Millie Rush (from left), mother Brenda Jackson-Williams and cousin Sabrina McGraw, all of Omaha, gather in a circle for 22 minutes in support of him after the Nebraska Board of Pardons denied his request for a sentence commutation Monday at the Capitol.
Nebraska interim head coach Mickey Joseph takes the field with the Huskers before the game against Oklahoma on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Oklahoma wide receiver Jalil Farooq (3) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Nebraska in the first quarter Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s Anthony Grant (10) hurdles Oklahoma’s Kani Walker (26) and Damond Harmon (17) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Lincoln High’s Liam Thew (33) warms up before Friday’s game between Lincoln High and Grand Island at the Beechner Athletic Complex.
Lincoln East’s Hudson Davy races toward the finish line in the boys varsity race during the Harold Scott Invite on Thursday at Pioneers Park.
Lincoln Southeast’s Max Buettenback (25) reels in an interception over Lincoln North Star’s Braeden Sunken (7) and his teammate Nate McCashland (3) during the first quarter Friday at Seacrest Field.
Cross country runners compete in the Harold Scott Invite on Thursday at Pioneers Park.
Nebraska’s Bekka Allick (5) reacts after dropping a point in the first set against Stanford on Tuesday at the Devaney Sports Center.
Workers assemble a set for Fox Big Noon Kickoff show, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022 at University of Nebraska Union, in Lincoln.

Mickey Joseph speaks at his first news conference as Nebraska’s interim football coach Tuesday. “For right now, my No. 1 focus and the staff’s focus is the players, that we make sure that they’re OK,” he said.
Lincoln East’s Kamdyn Roebke catches a pass against Lincoln Northeast on Thursday at Seacrest Field.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS