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Wichita State To Sell Beer At More Sports Events

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Wichita State University has changed its policy on beer sales to align with other universities in the American Athletic Conference.

Beer will now be available during basketball games at Koch Arena and softball games at Wilkins Stadium. Fans could already buy beer during baseball games at Eck Stadium.

WSU Associate Athletic Director Brad Pittman says expanding beer sales to the other facilities will help their bottom line.

"We just made a move to a new conference, and with added expenses, it’s always nice to be able to attract an additional revenue source especially when we need that revenue source, and that’s kind of what this will provide for us," Pittman says.

Pittman says Wichita State is “playing catch-up” because beer and alcohol sales at college sports events are becoming increasingly common and the norm.

Concession stands started selling beer last weekend during WSU’s volleyball games.

Pittman says beer won’t be sold during high school events held at WSU, such as basketball tournaments and graduation ceremonies.

"Those types of events...it’s just not the right thing to do," Pittman says. "We are cognizant of the message that we send out to people."

Beer sales have been allowed at baseball games in Eck Stadium for nearly 30 years.

Pittman says he doesn’t anticipate any changes to security staffing as a result of the new beer policy. However, he says fans who attend Shocker basketball games will notice an increase in security measures due to the concealed carry law that went into effect in July.

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Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar

 
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

 

Deborah joined the news team at KMUW in September 2014 as a news reporter. She spent more than a dozen years working in news at both public and commercial radio and television stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan. Before relocating to Wichita in 2013, Deborah taught news and broadcasting classes at Tarrant County College in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.