Nebraska Athletics this week reported more than $4.3 million in alcohol sales this season at Memorial Stadium.
According to Nebraska Public Media, that number beats athletic director Troy Dannen's conservative estimate of $3-4 million in sales following approval of alcohol sales last fall.
In an earlier report, Memorial Stadium topped the alcohol sales rankings among the 21 college football programs that responded to open records reports.
All concessions at Nebraska, including alcohol, generated more than $10 million in revenue for the athletic department. That’s a 75% increase from last year’s total of nearly $5.8 million.
Food, water and soda remained flat over last year, at more than $5.7 million.
“But overall, it went as expected," said athletics department CFO Seth Dorsey. "Items purchased were up. There was a substantial amount of alcohol purchased through various mediums, whether it be premium or concession, across a variety of products.”
Dorsey said the school is looking at adding points of sale at both Devaney and Memorial Stadiums.
“It's more complicated than it comes across, but that's no excuse,” Dorsey said, “and we need to figure out how to get more points of sale out there to hopefully have a better experience, whether people want the hot dog or they want the nacho.”
Dorsey said that adding alcohol sales may have contributed to a reduction in binge drinking at Memorial Stadium.
“We've been tracking data with police, and across the board, there have been positive results,” Dorsey said.
