Gene Smith had said Ohio State was weighing the idea, and now alcohol sales are coming to Ohio Stadium this fall — well, at least in some capacity.
Patrons sitting in the suite and club levels of The Horseshoe will have the luxury of purchasing beer and wine during football games, Ohio State's Vice President and Director of Athletics announced Friday.
"This decision was made in consultation and with input from appropriate stakeholders, including the Athletics Council," Smith said in a press release. "The safety and well-being of our campus community is our first priority and the university will carefully monitor and assess the pilot program throughout the season."
Ohio Stadium houses 81 suites and 2,700 club level seats. All told, both areas combine for 4,370 total seats, or 4 percent of the stadium's capacity.
This will not be the first time alcohol has been sold in the stadium. Sales were present at The Rolling Stones, Buckeye Country Music Fest (both nights) and One Direction concerts in addition to the Cleveland Browns open scrimmage Aug. 7.
According to the release, following each event the university gathered information from Levy Restaurants — the school's concession vendor — and received successful reports from alcohol sales.
Levy's been providing wine and beer for "nearly every concert event" at the Jerome Schottenstein Center since becoming the school's vendor in 2013, the release said.
Wine and beer's also been available during men's and women's basketball and hockey games at the suite and club levels since it's opening in 1998. The total number of seats in those areas is 5,632.
