Governor Pawlenty On Beer Sales at TCF on WCCO

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Basically, T-Paw backed the legislation, citing "beer for one, beer for all," and "fairness" being the Minnesota way. A summary quote of his: "My view is we don't have a two-class society, so you can't just have a situation where you have a beer up in the skyboxes and then nobody else gets the beer."

Tafoya did a good job with challenging Pawlenty's two-tiered society argument, saying "paying for suites...you are paying a premium. Why doesn't that entitle you? You're certainly paying a lot more for the premium seat."

T-Paw went with the "public money for the stadium" rebuttal, but Tafoya didn't buy it. She then used the airplane first class/coach analogy, but T-Paw stuck to his guns (he is a politician, after all). He then basically ignored Tafoya's question on the potential lost revenue stream of alcohol sales in the stadium.

Here's another update on alcohol at the stadium from the MN Daily.
 


hubbabubba said:
Basically, T-Paw backed the legislation, citing "beer for one, beer for all," and "fairness" being the Minnesota way. A summary quote of his: "My view is we don't have a two-class society, so you can't just have a situation where you have a beer up in the skyboxes and then nobody else gets the beer."

Tafoya did a good job with challenging Pawlenty's two-tiered society argument, saying "paying for suites...you are paying a premium. Why doesn't that entitle you? You're certainly paying a lot more for the premium seat."

T-Paw went with the "public money for the stadium" rebuttal, but Tafoya didn't buy it. She then used the airplane first class/coach analogy, but T-Paw stuck to his guns (he is a politician, after all). He then basically ignored Tafoya's question on the potential lost revenue stream of alcohol sales in the stadium.

Here's another update on alcohol at the stadium from the MN Daily.
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This is the same as first class/coach seats on a plane. Where is the outcry there? Also, the indoor premium seats have nice padded cushions. Why doesn't mine have that? Cushions for one, cushions for all, right? T-Paw got one thing right, Minnesota is the land of fairness (I mean entitlement), you don't need to pay for extras, you just deserve them, and let others pay for them for you.
 


Am I off my rocker here but will the people up in the suites and club room still get beer or wine REGARDLESS which way the legislature decides? The only question is whether they have to PAY for the wine or beer. Mariucci provides beer and wine in their club and suite area for no cost.

If I am corrrect its amazing how the legislature is so misinformed.
 

GoGophers2005 said:
Am I off my rocker here but will the people up in the suites and club room still get beer or wine REGARDLESS which way the legislature decides? The only question is whether they have to PAY for the wine or beer. Mariucci provides beer and wine in their club and suite area for no cost.

If I am corrrect its amazing how the legislature is so misinformed.
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Nope, they added "or serve" to the bill so they can't just give it away to the premium seats. Which means Williams and Mariucci will now be dry now in the clubs.

The lost revenue without any alcohol available will be a significant hit to the athletic department. That's why there is an extremely slim possibility the Prez may reverse course....very slim.
 

Quote: Mariucci provides beer and wine in their club and suite area for no cost.

Now that the issue at Gopher Stadium is resolved, Mariucci and Williams Arena will be next. Before long Bruininks and the Board of Regents will no longer be able to refuse to take avantage of the revenue streams that are available to every college and university in the country. There is money to be made by selling beer to adults at college sports events. During these difficult financial times when every state is cutting back on the amount they provide for higher education, it is irresponsible and bordering on financial mismanagement for colleges/universities to not pursue every available opportunity to increase their revenues. It is a conservative Repulican issue if there ever was one. Within five years most Division I programs in the country will be following the U's lead on this issue.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
Quote: Mariucci provides beer and wine in their club and suite area for no cost.

Now that the issue at Gopher Stadium is resolved Mariucci and Williams Arena will be next. Before long Bruininks and the Board of Regents will no longer be able to refuse to take avantage of the revenue streams that are available to every college and university in the country. There is money to be made by selling beer to adults at college sports events. In these hard financial times, when every state is cutting back on the amount they provide for higher education, it is irresponsible, and bordering on financial mismanagement for them to not pursue every opportunity to increase their revenues. It is a conservative Repulican issue if there ever was one. In five years almost every Division I program in the country will be following the U's lead on this issue.
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Wow. I didn't know government intervention and pandering were now considered bedrock conservative principles. :rolleyes: This isn't a conservative/liberal issue. Its all comes down to whether you believe in pandering and strongarming the U over a legitimate decision by the unversity's leaders.
 



UpnorthGo4 said:
Quote: Mariucci provides beer and wine in their club and suite area for no cost.

Now that the issue at Gopher Stadium is resolved, Mariucci and Williams Arena will be next. Before long Bruininks and the Board of Regents will no longer be able to refuse to take avantage of the revenue streams that are available to every college and university in the country. There is money to be made by selling beer to adults at college sports events. During these difficult financial times when every state is cutting back on the amount they provide for higher education, it is irresponsible and bordering on financial mismanagement for for colleges/universities to not pursue every opportunity to increase their revenues. It is a conservative Repulican issue if there ever was one. Within five years most Division I programs in the country will be following the U's lead on this issue.
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dreams.jpg
 

I'm sorry but this is the most asinine bill passed by both the legislature and Pawlenty. I'm sick of all of these morons sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. Why don't you spend your time on fixing the budget rather than REDUCING the revenue of the U.
 

I suspect the U will find a way around it. Something like; the U will buy coolers for each suite, the suite owners will set up an online account at Haskells where they will order what they want, it will be delivered to the U, packed in the coolers by U staff, and will be waiting in the suites when the fans arrive.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
Quote: Mariucci provides beer and wine in their club and suite area for no cost.

Now that the issue at Gopher Stadium is resolved, Mariucci and Williams Arena will be next. Before long Bruininks and the Board of Regents will no longer be able to refuse to take avantage of the revenue streams that are available to every college and university in the country. There is money to be made by selling beer to adults at college sports events. During these difficult financial times when every state is cutting back on the amount they provide for higher education, it is irresponsible and bordering on financial mismanagement for for colleges/universities to not pursue every opportunity to increase their revenues. It is a conservative Repulican issue if there ever was one. Within five years most Division I programs in the country will be following the U's lead on this issue.
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Ignoring the remainder of your post, I'll say this: the alcohol issue at TCF Bank Stadium is far from resolved. From what I understand, it's not an all-or-nothing proposition right now. Bruininks is mulling over following options on the table:

1) Snub his nose at the Legislature and do what was originally planned: sell in premium seating areas only. Apparently he can do this because the University was established before the state…or something to that effect. Doing this, he'd run the risk of ticking off the clueless idiots in St. Paul, possibly resulting in a less-than-favorable relationship between the U and the oh-so-wise Legislature.
2) Build a beer garden outside the stadium that all will have access to. I assume this would mean alcohol would then be sold in premium seating areas as well. This is a legitimate option that Bruininks is considering and which has not been discussed on here before.
3) Open alcohol sales to the entire stadium.
4) Ban alcohol sales in the entire stadium.
 



I, for one, am finnished pointing out how stupid the legislature's position is.

I now think you just let the booze flow freely. Make sure everyone gets totally f'd up and no one dares to bring anyone under the age of 16 to games. Let a few students die in the process, and let the politicians run around with all that blood on their hands.
 

badgergopher said:
I suspect the U will find a way around it. Something like; the U will buy coolers for each suite, the suite owners will set up an online account at Haskells where they will order what they want, it will be delivered to the U, packed in the coolers by U staff, and will be waiting in the suites when the fans arrive.
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The suites have fridges as I recall. No need to go low-tech! :)
 


hubbabubba said:
2) Build a beer garden outside the stadium that all will have access to. I assume this would mean alcohol would then be sold in premium seating areas as well. This is a legitimate option that Bruininks is considering and which has not been discussed on here before.
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This is a very intriguing idea. I would think they could easily fit some sort of beer garden somewhere in the plaza area. I doubt too many students will make the very long round trip from their seats all the way to the plaza area just for the privilege of buying an overpriced beer that will be warm by the time they get back.
 

HopHead said:
This is a very intriguing idea. I would think they could easily fit some sort of beer garden somewhere in the plaza area. I doubt too many students will make the very long round trip from their seats all the way to the plaza area just for the privilege of buying an overpriced beer that will be warm by the time they get back.
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Assuming the U is considering this, one big positive of a beer garden that the U would see is that it makes keeping underage students out an easier task. With limited entry points (whenever it was located, plaza or otherwise) you can put enough well trained ID checkers to keep it 21+. And I'm betting (like most beer gardens) that you wouldn't be allowed to take your brew outside of the garden, thus eliminating the current Dome issue of over 21's buying beer for underagers.
 

Originally Posted by hubbabubba
2) Build a beer garden outside the stadium that all will have access to. I assume this would mean alcohol would then be sold in premium seating areas as well. This is a legitimate option that Bruininks is considering and which has not been discussed on here before.

I consider this to be a reasonable compromise. I am glad to hear that Bruininks is starting to adopt a more flexible approach to this very important issue. Of course, the proposed Beer Garden will have to be in a place where people can continue to watch the game or half-time activities. There should be enough available space to make that happen.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
Quote: Mariucci provides beer and wine in their club and suite area for no cost.

Now that the issue at Gopher Stadium is resolved, Mariucci and Williams Arena will be next. Before long Bruininks and the Board of Regents will no longer be able to refuse to take avantage of the revenue streams that are available to every college and university in the country. There is money to be made by selling beer to adults at college sports events. During these difficult financial times when every state is cutting back on the amount they provide for higher education, it is irresponsible and bordering on financial mismanagement for colleges/universities to not pursue every available opportunity to increase their revenues. It is a conservative Repulican issue if there ever was one. Within five years most Division I programs in the country will be following the U's lead on this issue.
Click to expand...

I like to drink before the games as much as anyone but am not really that concerned one wayo or another if alcohol is allowed in the stadium and to whom. Serving alcohol would add additional revenue to the athletic department, however you shouldn't need this little bit of revenue to sustain the athletic department. This revenue stream is not available at other schools and they seem to be doing just fine. You can look at schools like Nebraska where they do not allow alcohol anywhere in the stadium and they sell out every game and the premium boxes are all sold out and purchased with either a 10 or 25 year lease.
 

Maximus said:
Nope, they added "or serve" to the bill so they can't just give it away to the premium seats. Which means Williams and Mariucci will now be dry now in the clubs.

The lost revenue without any alcohol available will be a significant hit to the athletic department. That's why there is an extremely slim possibility the Prez may reverse course....very slim.
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This may be an answer, or perhaps the U will sue under the laws outlined in prior threads...

Ever heard of "set ups"? Lots of vfw's, eagles and other clubs and golf courses serve the pop, water, mixers, etc and the customers provide their own booze. They even store it there for them with their name on it....

I really don't care though....
 

Like thousands of other fans, I will be drinking in TCF. If the U sells beer in the stadium, they will get $20 more from me each game. If the U doesn't sell, I'll just sneak it in.
 

GopherGod said:
Serving alcohol would add additional revenue to the athletic department, however you shouldn't need this little bit of revenue to sustain the athletic department. This revenue stream is not available at other schools and they seem to be doing just fine. You can look at schools like Nebraska where they do not allow alcohol anywhere in the stadium and they sell out every game and the premium boxes are all sold out and purchased with either a 10 or 25 year lease.
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They seem to be doing fine because they have 80,000 to 100,000 tickets sold....with even more revenue from parking and advertising and concessions.

It will be a severe revenue hit for the Gophers. Minnesota doesn't have the draw to sell 10 or 25 year leases. They set the sale price for all the premium seating with alcohol being a draw. If it's served and not sold....super! If it's not sold, how attractice is premium seating in 3-4 years? No alcohol in the Williams and Mariucci club rooms? What's the draw....especially Williams where you can't even see the game that well or at all.

Comparing Minnesota's situation to Nebraska, Michigan and Ohio State is apples to oranges. When we were in the dome, it was apples to peanuts, so we've made some progress.
 

But here is the danger of not providing booze in the club or suites...TCF Bank is in direct competition with every team, every arena in town for these premium seats. If a company is thinking of adding a perk like a suite or club seats for their clients they WILL take into account the availablity of booze. It may not be their #1 criteria but they will be concerned.

Not providing booze does not hurt the U based on the cost of a beer, it could end up being the cost of a season long suite or loge box.
 

GoGophers2005 said:
But here is the danger of not providing booze in the club or suites...TCF Bank is in direct competition with every team, every arena in town for these premium seats. If a company is thinking of adding a perk like a suite or club seats for their clients they WILL take into account the availablity of booze. It may not be their #1 criteria but they will be concerned.

Not providing booze does not hurt the U based on the cost of a beer, it could end up being the cost of a season long suite or loge box.
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Not a bad point given the state of the economy...
 

Maximus said:
They seem to be doing fine because they have 80,000 to 100,000 tickets sold....with even more revenue from parking and advertising and concessions.

It will be a severe revenue hit for the Gophers. Minnesota doesn't have the draw to sell 10 or 25 year leases. They set the sale price for all the premium seating with alcohol being a draw. If it's served and not sold....super! If it's not sold, how attractice is premium seating in 3-4 years? No alcohol in the Williams and Mariucci club rooms? What's the draw....especially Williams where you can't even see the game that well or at all.

Comparing Minnesota's situation to Nebraska, Michigan and Ohio State is apples to oranges. When we were in the dome, it was apples to peanuts, so we've made some progress.
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The point is, if you put a competitive product on the field all the rest of the rewards will come such as adding seats to the stadiums, longer term leases on the boxes, more advertising revenue, etc. Unlike most college towns we are fortunate to have tons of fortune 500 companies right in our backyard and if you build a winner then these companies will be jumping at the opportunity to buy a box and donate to the University, money that will make the alcohol revenue seem like peanuts. If the team is winning, people will want to come and be a part of it regardless of alcohol being available in the stadium. The other thing is that our pricing for premium seating is a steal right now and if we can increase the demand then we will be able to charge rates closer to what the teams you listed charge which will further increase revenue.
 

GoGophers2005 said:
But here is the danger of not providing booze in the club or suites...TCF Bank is in direct competition with every team, every arena in town for these premium seats. If a company is thinking of adding a perk like a suite or club seats for their clients they WILL take into account the availablity of booze. It may not be their #1 criteria but they will be concerned.

Not providing booze does not hurt the U based on the cost of a beer, it could end up being the cost of a season long suite or loge box.
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I have belived that the professional sports interests have been working hard behind the scenes to keep this in the press. They want it to be as big an issue as possible because they see the suites as competition for corporate dollars.
 

UpnorthGo4 said:
Originally Posted by hubbabubba
2) Build a beer garden outside the stadium that all will have access to. I assume this would mean alcohol would then be sold in premium seating areas as well. This is a legitimate option that Bruininks is considering and which has not been discussed on here before.

I consider this to be a reasonable compromise. I am glad to hear that Bruininks is starting to adopt a more flexible approach to this very important issue. Of course, the proposed Beer Garden will have to be in a place where people can continue to watch the game or half-time activities. There should be enough available space to make that happen.
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as usual i try to read what you post, but all i can see is "blah, blah, blah......give me my beer damn it! i am selfish and have a sense of entitlement to a level of service that i did not/am not wiling to pay for! i don't care if i am screwing over the U's athletic dept revenue options!" :rolleyes:
 

badgergopher said:
If you jump to the halfway point, the discussion of TCF begins.

http://www.wccoradio.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3773315
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as usual ole' gov. cost-u-plenty-in-fees dances around answering a question like fred astaire. what a tool! i hope he runs for president in 2012 and gets his butt kicked like walter mondale did in 1984. except this time t-paw doesn't even win the state of minnesota in the electoral college.....finally putting an end to this guy's political career.
 

Goldmember said:
I have belived that the professional sports interests have been working hard behind the scenes to keep this in the press. They want it to be as big an issue as possible because they see the suites as competition for corporate dollars.
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As they should if they're smart.

I personally could care less if alcohol is sold at games. I've never had a beer at a game, however, I have many friends that enjoy alcohol and the U is missing a big revenue stream if they cannot sell booze. I'm curious how many thousands of dollars the Vikings bring in just from beer sales at every home game...I bet it's an incredible amount of money.
 

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