Jun. 14—Lansing — The Michigan Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to allow university athletic stadiums to sell alcohol, a change that would put the state's two largest schools on par with the majority of their counterparts in the Big Ten conference.
Approved 36-2, the bill now goes to the state House for consideration. Sen. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, the sponsor of the proposal, said on Tuesday fans could "have beers in their hands in the fall."
McCann said Michigan had become an outlier compared to the rest of the Big Ten conference and universities wanted to be able to sell alcohol.
"They think it increases the fan experience and that actually some people have come to them kinda puzzled that they are not able to do this at Michigan venues," McCann said in an interview Tuesday.
As it stands now, 11 of the 14 universities in the Big Ten conference allow alcohol sales, Marlon Lynch, MSU's vice president and chief safety officer, told a Senate committee this week. The three that don't are Michigan State University, University of Michigan and the University of Nebraska, he said.
Lynch said his colleagues at other schools didn't report increases in "alcohol-related issues" after permitting sales.
Fred Schaible, assistant vice president for government relations at Western Michigan, said the legislation simply would give universities an option to sell alcohol at their stadiums. Universities' leadership would ultimately have to pursue licenses from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
"But we do expect most to want to do this because of the fan feedback as well as the economic opportunities that it has to support the athletic programs at our institutions," Schaible said.
Representatives from Oakland University, Central Michigan University, Northern Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University have also voiced support for the bill.
There was no debate in the Senate on the measure before the vote Wednesday. The opposition votes came from Sens. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, and Thomas Albert, R-Lowell.
Singh represents Michigan State University's campus in the state Senate. He didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about his position on the bill Wednesday.
If universities get licenses to sell aclohol, the bill would broadly permit sales at up to 100 days of "intercollegiate athletic scheduled events," meaning sales could occur at a variety of stadiums, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer stadiums. The bill would also allow sales for five days at other events, each year.
When it comes to extra five days, McCann gave the example of a U2 concert that occurred at MSU's Spartan Stadium in 2011.
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