Two weeks after new president Greg Fenves publicly endorsed the idea, the University of Texas at Austin announced Wednesday that it will begin selling beer at its football games.
Fans worried about the mixture of alcohol and guns don't need to fret, however. The state's new law allowing the concealed carrying of handguns on campus doesn't apply to sporting events.
The school said in a press release that beer and wine will be sold in all public and private areas at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, starting with its home game against Rice on Sept. 12. Chancellor William McRaven has signed off on the idea, though his approval wasn't necessarily needed, the school said.
As part of a pilot program to test out the idea, the Longhorns have already sold beer at basketball and baseball games. And alcohol has also been sold in certain private sections of the football stadium. The school said its athletics department, campus police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission reviewed the activity at those other sporting events before signing off.
It's not yet clear how much beer will cost, or which brands will be sold. The school's licensed vendor, Sodexo, will be in charge of that.
"Fan safety and enjoyment remains our no. 1 priority as we work through the process of expanding beer and wine sales into all seating areas of the stadium," Texas Men's Athletics Director Steve Patterson said in a statement. "During our expansive pilot, we found fans and staff handled the situation responsibly and we had no negative issues or situations. We will continue to monitor the service closely."
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