A $25,000 Donation Will Give Georgia Bulldogs Fans the Opportunity to Pay for a Beer
In a reversal from just a generation ago, college campuses have been becoming laxer with their beer rules. The shift has seen a loosening of restrictions on serving alcohol at college sports events as well. But one of the biggest holdouts is also one of the biggest names in NCAA sports: SEC football. Though the conference is currently contemplating a change, for now, the league prevents all of its teams from selling alcohol in general seating areas. In the meantime, however, the University of Georgia has reportedly tweaked its alcohol policy, with plans to sell beer and wine in Sanford Stadium for the first time. There’s just one catch: It’ll cost you at least $25,000.
No, the Bulldogs aren’t breaking the SEC rule and selling alcohol in the general seating area, but according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the team is using a workaround that allows them to sell booze in the “premium seating” club level, called the 200 level. There, a special section — without a view of the game, mind you — will be offering beer and wine, but only to members of the Magill Society, a group that requires a minimum $25,000 donation to the UGA Athletic Association over a five-year period.
“We have an area that we’re going to utilize, that we’re going to cordon off and create an area for members of the Magill Society to have limited beer-and-wine sales this year,” UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity reportedly stated earlier this week. “It’s available to a certain level of donors, but it’s not accessible to fans in general seating areas. We’re permitted to do it under the current rules as it stands now. We’re just doing it as a benefit to our donors.”
For the record, the Bulldogs have, in the past, offered free booze in some private areas like SkySuites, so what sets this new program apart is that it is the first time fans will have the ability to buy alcohol in individual transactions. Yes, at Sanford Stadium, $25,000 can now apparently earn you the right to pay for a beer — a beer that you can’t take back to your seat to watch the game. What a deal!
