UNK won't sell alcohol at football games this fall due to insurance costs

The high cost of insurance is – once again – putting a pause on alcohol sales at University of Nebraska at Kearney football games. The college’s vendor is required to have a $5 million insurance policy for alcohol sales. Athletic Director Marc Bauer said that benchmark is too high to try to sell alcohol at UNK Loper football games, which average about 3,000 fans per contest.

“I think that's really what made it challenging for our third-party vendor to even want to get involved,” Bauer said, “because I don't think they would generate enough revenue to cover their expenses.”

The contractor is Nightlife Concepts LLC, a local company that owns a bar and restaurant called Cunningham Journal.

Last year, Nightlife had planned to sell alcohol in an attempt to add to the game day experience and perhaps attract more casual football fans to the stadium. However, on the day before the first UNK home game, the university discovered Nightlife would need at least $5 million in liquor liability coverage, $4 million more than it currently was covered for.

“At the time, it was a little frustrating, because we had spent so much time and effort and energy preparing for that day, and it didn't happen,” Bauer said.

He said the athletic department is still “very pleased with the game day atmosphere that we have today.” That includes allowing fans and alumni to bring their own alcohol into a designated area outside of the stadium for tailgating.

“You don't have to have alcohol present to have a great time, to have a great experience with your family, and that's kind of where we're at right now,” Bauer said.

UNK spokesperson Todd Gottula said the school talked with fans about their thoughts heading into this year.

“We've heard both: ‘We would love to have that opportunity to have a beverage during games,’ and the majority of our fans are like, ‘You know what, I can take it or leave it.”

As for its peers, Bauer estimates that eight of 10 schools in UNK’s conference currently sell alcohol in some capacity in their respective football stadiums. Of those eight Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association schools, Bauer said at least two are able to generate a profit from alcohol sales: Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri. The latter also sells alcohol for other sports, he said. But in football, those schools' football stadiums are a bit bigger than Cope Stadium in Kearney.

UNK could try to sell alcohol at some point in the future, Bauer said, but the university will proceed with a dry venue this year.

“We have a policy for alcohol sales,” the athletic director said. “It's on the website. We'll always have that policy, as far as I'm concerned, and maybe at a later date in the future, maybe somebody might want to use it and sell alcohol.