'People are flat-out slobs': Jamie Pollard

[StPaulCyclone]

As some else posted, the university are self insured, so they are not taking out a large policy here. Exactly what risk are they taking out here selling alcohol? They can't sell all the beer and have to hold it over until the next week?
If the risk and reward was not enough to make up for it, then no stadium would be selling it.

The risk and insurance we are discussing has nothing to do with product spoilage. Usually a seller of alcohol has to carry Liquor Liability Insurance to cover injury to self, injury to others, property damage, resulting lawsuit (which can be large), etc..

 

[IcSyU]

So these other schools are getting scraps but are still proceeding with it. Why? Seems silly

What do 80% of the power 4 or 5 schools know that ISU does not? How do they make it work?

It's a fair question. Maybe the 80% are involved with a boondoggle and the 20% are the smart ones. I honestly do not know


Personally I think Pollard is a major control freak, but when it comes to athletics that is mostly a plus you need to make resolute decisions. But can be a minus from time to time.

End of day the possibility exists, if he wants to the state to pony up funds, they will say we want some of it back in tax revenue back. Add beer to the menu.

For now it ain't happening

No, it isn't a fair question. Not a single person has said it won't make money nor has a single person said it won't work. None. Even ISU is saying they would make money. ISU has chosen not to have general public booze sales. The reasons for that are unknown publicly but they obviously exist.

I do think next year there will be alcohol sales in JTS and Hilton because beggers don't get to be choosers and if you aren't in the B10 or SEC you are a begger.

 

[StPaulCyclone]

So these other schools are getting scraps but are still proceeding with it. Why? Seems silly

What do 80% of the power 4 or 5 schools know that ISU does not? How do they make it work?

It's a fair question. Maybe the 80% are involved with a boondoggle and the 20% are the smart ones. I honestly do not know.


Personally I think Pollard is a major control freak, but when it comes to athletics that is mostly a plus you need to make resolute decisions. But can be a minus from time to time.

End of day the possibility exists, if he wants to the state to pony up funds, they will say we want some of it back in tax revenue back. Add beer to the menu.

For now it ain't happening

I think everyone can agree there can be a financial benefit, but some are ignoring (or not understanding) the complications and risks associated with it. It’s not a simple matter.

 

[fsanford]

No, it isn't a fair question. Not a single person has said it won't make money nor has a single person said it won't work. None. Even ISU is saying they would make money. ISU has chosen not to have general public booze sales. The reasons for that are unknown publicly but they obviously exist.

I do think next year there will be alcohol sales in JTS and Hilton because beggers don't get to be choosers and if you aren't in the B10 or SEC you are a begger.

It is a fair question to ask a public university that is out there with hat in hand to ask why they chose not to do it.

That is not even debatable.

 

[StPaulCyclone]

Not in alcohol sells, taxes make a up a large part of the price. You already have security at the event, so you hire some more here, you are still going to have clean up whether you sell alcohol or not, what equipment do you need to sell beer out of large stock cooler?

I give up, you guys are correct, its silly that Uni and EIU are messing with selling alcohol to the average fan, when they should be making them pony up and set in the private areas for the privilege.

It think you are mistaking people pointing out the complexities and actual potential profits, for being against selling beer. Many are pointing out the myriad of other factors beyond “sell beer, make a bunch of money”. Their position can be summed up as “it’s complicated and we may not make as much money as one would think”. Granted, there is a “we shouldn’t sell beer” crowd, but that position is becoming untenable in the current environment.

 

[StPaulCyclone]

You keep bringing up taxes.....those are sales/excise/alcohol taxes from the state, not income taxes.

Yes, they all make money. Jamie estimated $400,000. The one complicating factor is the the End Zone club. Would people quit this to buy regular tickets. Nobody knows that answer.

Again, I am pro selling beer. I am just more worried about the $19.6 million we need vs the potential $400,000.

I still wonder what the “lift” would be stadium wide given that alcohol is already sold in the club areas and suites. It’d love to know what iowa/uni’s profits are.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

It's simple to me, we need money. That means you need more revenue. They will be forced to do this at some point.

 

[fsanford]

I think everyone can agree there can be a financial benefit, but some are ignoring (or not understanding) the complications and risks associated with it. It’s not a simple matter.

But again there are blueprints out there of schools doing it. Alot of them. Could you follow them? Maybe not

its not so much a money thing, though that is a part of it

I want to better understand what differentiates ISU from others in this area. It gives you better insight to the entire thought process

Agree it's probably not easy. Things like the free flow in and out of stadium needs to be considered

 

[JP4CY]

It's simple to me, we need money. That means you need more revenue. They will be forced to do this at some point.

 

[3TrueFans]

It's simple to me, we need money. That means you need more revenue. They will be forced to do this at some point.

 

[StPaulCyclone]

G

But again there are blueprints out there of schools doing it. Alot of them. Could you follow them? Maybe not

its not so much a money thing, though that is a part of it

I want to better understand what differentiates ISU from others in this area. It gives you better insight to the entire thought process

Agree it's probably not easy. Things like the free flow in and out of stadium needs to be considered

Good questions. I like to think that they have looked at some other “blueprints”, as a part of their decision making and current position. Maybe there are challenges to applying them to our unique situation.

To add another consideration to stadium flow... JP has said he’s trying to make JTS a family friendly environment. For example, keeping the North hillsides to cater to families. He’s trying to replace the lost ‘80-‘90s fandom with the ‘00s, ‘10s and beyond.

 

[Trice]

Kinda cracks me up that the discussion around this lives on, people debating the pros and cons of this and trying to figure out whether we can make it work or not, as if this is a Rubik's Cube we just can't solve despite literally every other athletic program in the country solving it on the first try.

 

[MJ271]

I'm curious if there's any thought given to the opportunity cost for fans buying beer in the stadium vs. donating. For instance, suppose beer were available and a fan spends $30 in the stadium on it, and the athletic department gets $6 in profit from that. But with those numbers, the AD would really prefer if the fan spent $15 on the same amount of beer outside the stadium, donated $10 to the AD, and kept $5 for themselves.

Now that probably shouldn't be used as a reason not to sell alcohol, because I don't think that most people budget or use their money that way. But I'd be curious if there's any negative relationship between something like alcohol or concession sales and donations.

 

[VeloClone]

Kinda cracks me up that the discussion around this lives on, people debating the pros and cons of this and trying to figure out whether we can make it work or not, as if this is a Rubik's Cube we just can't solve despite literally every other athletic program in the country solving it on the first try.

Most of the discussion has been whether the impact on the ADs bottom line will be "a couple million" or "three or four million" or an amount much less than that.

 

[Clark]

No, it isn't a fair question. Not a single person has said it won't make money nor has a single person said it won't work. None. Even ISU is saying they would make money. ISU has chosen not to have general public booze sales. The reasons for that are unknown publicly but they obviously exist.

I do think next year there will be alcohol sales in JTS and Hilton because beggers don't get to be choosers and if you aren't in the B10 or SEC you are a begger.

the reason is fairly simple and obvious. ISU thinks they get more profit by making alcohol only available in one section of the stadium than if they did it stadium wide.

 

[VeloClone]

the reason is fairly simple and obvious. ISU thinks they get more profit by making alcohol only available in one section of the stadium than if they did it stadium wide.

They could easily split the baby on this. Offer a very limited beer selection to the peasants while offering a wider selection and mixed drinks in premium spaces. Not many people are going to move out of their SEZ club seats because they can now get Busch Light/Bud Light/Miller Lite in the rest of the stadium.

 

[Pope]

We're living through the absolute best era in the history of Iowa State athletics, but we've got fans who are obsessed with the lack of stadium wide beer sales. Good Lord.

 

[jdcyclone19]

FYI. ISU is not self-insured (none of the state universities are "self-insured"); this is a big misconception. They have insurance plans with $1-5 million deductibles, depending on the type of insurance. ISU uses Lockton as its broker and Travelers as its main insurer.

ISU already has this insurance since they sell alcohol in the Sukup EZ club and other events on ISU property. The premium would probably increase due to the increase of alcohol sales.

Duh. it is for ISU and the other state universities because they are self insured.

The article listed stated that EIU made $4.5 million after taxes, and we all know the state of Iowa taxes items like alcohol at a high rate. So if they make $4.5 million after paying their taxes, I would not think making $3 million after expenses would be in the ballpark. They are buying at wholesale prices, and its most of the workers selling the beer are make $10 to $12 bucks an hour and a lot are from groups that the university is paying to work.

If they were not making money, at least 50% on each sale, they would not be messing with it. And even if they cleared a million, that is a million more than we make not selling it.

 

[ClubCy]

We're living through the absolute best era in the history of Iowa State athletics, but we've got fans who are obsessed with the lack of stadium wide beer sales. Good Lord.

Idk I think if we can get 30 more pages of people arguing the same points over and over we can really get somewhere.

Between this and the Farmageddon thread this week is being dominated by pointless topics.

 

[3TrueFans]

We're living through the absolute best era in the history of Iowa State athletics, but we've got fans who are obsessed with the lack of stadium wide beer sales. Good Lord.

Nobody is forcing you to participate.