University of Nebraska at Kearney nixes alcohol sales for remainder of 2025 football season

The University of Nebraska at Kearney has dropped the idea of selling alcohol at football games for the 2025 season.

Originally, the school planned to sell alcohol at its first home game on Sept. 6, but an insurance issue with its concession vendor, Nightlife Concepts, put a halt on those plans.

University spokesperson Todd Gottula confirmed on Wednesday that no alcohol will be sold in Ron and Carol Cope Stadium this year.

“UNK has decided not to move forward with alcohol sales at our Loper football games this season,” Gottula said.

“After reviewing it carefully, the insurance costs were just cost-prohibitive for the university and our concessions vendor,” Gottula said. “So we’re going to revisit the concept in the offseason and evaluate the options and take a look at maybe doing this in future seasons.”

Loper Athletics hoped the insurance company covering Nightlife Concepts would be able to iron out issues prior to the second home game of the season this past Saturday against Emporia State. When the details were still up in the air following Saturday’s contest, Gottula said the school decided to drop the idea of alcohol at football games for the year. The Lopers have just three remaining home games in the 2025 regular season.

A misunderstanding between the insurance company and Nightlife Concepts about whether its policy covered alcohol sales in stadiums caused the holdup, Gottula said. Once the parties revisited a new policy, it became clear that it wouldn’t make financial sense for the school or the concessionaire.

Though UNK isn’t sure how much money it could make from alcohol sales, it’s likely going to be a small margin, he said. The school’s football stadium holds about 5,200 people.

Gottula said the school still wants to explore alcohol sales for future football seasons.