Michigan lawmakers bring back plan to allow alcohol sales at university sporting events

Lansing — A bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers has revived proposals that would allow universities in the state to sell alcohol at basketball, football and hockey games.

The legislators detailed the new bills in an announcement Tuesday, arguing the re-introduced measures would help create parity with other states that currently allow alcohol to be sold to fans at college sporting events.

Of the 14 schools in the Big Ten, eight allow alcohol sales at football games, according to the lawmakers. However, because of current Michigan policy, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University aren't allowed to widely sell beer at their events.

"There is no good reason for this option to be available only for people watching the games in suites and no one else," Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, said Tuesday. "Furthermore, there is strong evidence that points to these policies helping to reduce binge drinking on game days.”

Under the proposals — one has been introduced in the House and one in the Senate — the Michigan Liquor Control Commission could issue up to three licenses to be used for events within the public areas of university football, basketball and hockey stadiums.

Last year, Alan Haller, MSU's athletic director, told The Detroit News he was interested in allowing alcohol sales at Spartan Stadium.

There is some precedent for alcohol sales at Michigan Stadium, where the UM Wolverines play. In 2012, then-Gov. Rick Snyder signed a law temporarily allowing alcohol sales at the Big House on New Year's Day 2013 for a National Hockey League Winter Classic game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

During the 2021-2022 legislative session, state Rep. Graham Filler, R-Clinton County, and then-Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, championed the plan to allow alcohol sales at university stadiums in Michigan. The House and Senate didn't take up their bills for votes.

At the time, Becky Iannotta, a spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the organization opposed legislative efforts like the one to allow more consumption of alcohol on college campuses.

House and Senate leadership have referred the new bills to the regulatory affairs committees.

“Giving universities the option to serve alcohol at their sporting events is about freedom, fairness and recognizing that the responsible consumption of alcohol inside the stadium is much safer than the binge drinking that goes on in the parking lot,” Filler said in the announcement Tuesday.

Under the new bills, the licenses could be used up to 50 days per year within an indoor basketball arena, up to 25 days per year at the indoor hockey arena and up to 10 days per year at the outdoor football stadium.

Staff Writers Matt Charboneau and Riley Beggin contributed.