Ballgame Booze

On Sept. 6, beer and wine were sold inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the first time in the history of Razorback football.

There might be a bit of disappointment for those who thought alcohol sales would usher in an era of decadence. Because you know what happened in the stadium’s enclosed club sections where alcohol was consumed? Nothing of note. People bought their beer and their wine and went on about their business, which was watching Arkansas manhandle poor little ol’ Nicholls State. No brawl, no riot, no couch fires. 

At least that’s how Rick Crisman described Saturday’s non-event. Crisman, the deputy director of Alcoholic Beverage Control, was on hand Sept. 6 to observe the beginning of the new era. He liked what he saw.

“I don’t think it could’ve went any better,” he said. “I didn’t see any instances of over-service. There were no drunks.”

While the Nicholls State game was little more than a scrimmage that everyone knew Arkansas would win, games down the road could sour the stadium’s mood.

MAC power Northern Illinois comes calling on Sept. 20, and deep into the 2014 schedule, Arkansas will have to defend its home turf against Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss.

Will those games drive fans to drink? Probably so. But will chaos break out in the sections of the stadium where beer and wine are sold? Probably not.