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The MATH on Beer Sales at Heinz

Go to a SEC football game at Georgia, USC, LSU, Mizzou, etc. The Beer! Beer! Beer! is pretty important. Our tailgating at Pitt is about as competitive as our football team.

The indisputable fact is that Football and booze simply go together, even if you don't approve. It is a football game, not a chucky cheeses. If you can't handle it, stay home.


Some Chuckee Cheez (sp) actually sell beer...don't know what my point is, but anyway...
 
Good points, but I think Barnes is thinking more revenue out of who already is there. The wvu data seems to show it is at least worth looking at.
Perhaps, but from my standpoint losing the revenues from required donations for club seats that allow access to the bars would be far greater than any profit seen from those who would switch to non-club seats buying beers over the course of 7 games. It was noted above WVU sees approx. 50 cents out of every dollar from selling beer in a stadium they own. There is no way Pitt sees anything like that in a stadium they rent, but even if they did, if a beer is sold for $7, If would take 71 beers to make up the minimum $250 donation. That's approx. 10 beers every single game to break even on the WVU model. How likely is that?

Pitt starts to consistently sell out their club seats, than this becomes a different discussion.
 
lets say 50,000 show up and 75% are over 21..=37,500 eligibles........and half like beer.....18750 eligibles....and on average they sell two beers to every eligible...thats 37,500 beers sold on a game day x 6 home games like this year...225000 beers sold in a season...times $7 /beer...thats $1.575 Million...minus the beer costs...say $2/beer(worse case)...thats $450,000...total net is $1.125 million for a season on beer sales...adjust the numbers as you may but that is probably a best case scenario

I am not anti-beer sales by any means. However, these projections don't seem wildly optimistic to anyone? They seem insanely optimistic to me.
 
lets say 50,000 show up and 75% are over 21..=37,500 eligibles........and half like beer.....18750 eligibles....and on average they sell two beers to every eligible...thats 37,500 beers sold on a game day x 6 home games like this year...225000 beers sold in a season...times $7 /beer...thats $1.575 Million...minus the beer costs...say $2/beer(worse case)...thats $450,000...total net is $1.125 million for a season on beer sales...adjust the numbers as you may but that is probably a best case scenario

I think there is money to be made with beer sales. However, I think your sales estimate is very optimistic.
 
Here is my take:

Sell beer in the stadium
Put limitations on ( up till 4th Q maybe )
Large donors will still pay to be in the club seats and they don’t want to get wet or cold. They donate primarily to feel important and help the school out ( maybe not in this order)


My main reason to sell beer is that as an adult I enjoy a glass of suds when I watch sporting events. I hate the club seats because the crowd their is quite and isolated from the crowd outside.

I am not a spring chicken but I want to feel the elements of the weather and be part of the cheering crowd and have a glass of suds when I watch sporing events.

Barnes brought this subject up for a reason. I am not sure what that reason is but he did float a trial balloon.
 
Here is my take:

Sell beer in the stadium
Put limitations on ( up till 4th Q maybe )
Large donors will still pay to be in the club seats and they don’t want to get wet or cold. They donate primarily to feel important and help the school out ( maybe not in this order)


My main reason to sell beer is that as an adult I enjoy a glass of suds when I watch sporting events. I hate the club seats because the crowd their is quite and isolated from the crowd outside.

I am not a spring chicken but I want to feel the elements of the weather and be part of the cheering crowd and have a glass of suds when I watch sporing events.

Barnes brought this subject up for a reason. I am not sure what that reason is but he did float a trial balloon.
Just curious - you do know the majority of club seats are out in the open, right?
 
I do but I was referring to ones who primarily stay inside on the couches and don’t pay attention to the game. I had club seats at one time and I did not like the experience, personally. To each their own

Just curious - you do know the majority of club seats are out in the open, right?
 
This is the answer. I have 4 current tickets for my family group. I can assure you for the next 10 years, my quota would reduce to 2 because I am not subjecting my young son to rude fan behavior. I think most of us know what NFL games are like and if we are using the revenues of WVU as an example, the question is would pitt make that profit vs those that stay home. I am sure it would equal a profit, but would I do it? No.

Conversely on the other end, you rarely get that behavior at baseball games or hockey outside of the games that people excessively tailgate (opening day, playoffs)
 
The idiots at games don't get that way from drinking inside the stadium. Hell, at Pitt games, most people aren't even in their seats when the team comes out of the tunnel. They'd have to pound'em pretty damn fast to even feel buzzed by halftime. The idiots are drinking beforehand.
Sell the beer, and make the money. It's pretty simple. And no, it's not gonna increase attendance. But, why would you just turn your head to a revenue stream?
 
The idiots at games don't get that way from drinking inside the stadium. Hell, at Pitt games, most people aren't even in their seats when the team comes out of the tunnel. They'd have to pound'em pretty damn fast to even feel buzzed by halftime. The idiots are drinking beforehand.
Sell the beer, and make the money. It's pretty simple. And no, it's not gonna increase attendance. But, why would you just turn your head to a revenue stream?
Perhaps because it's not that simple.
Which is why only a handful of colleges do it.
 
Souf,

I agree that it can't be that simple. Fortunately, or unfortunately, whichever way you look at it, tailgating before Pitt football is weak by compared to some other schools. Yes, there are always going to be jackasses that go too far pregaming, and that will continue whether there is in stadium beer sales or not. How do you remedy that? Maybe patrol the parking lots, don't let visibly intoxicated people in. I don't know. The people that will buy beer in the stadium are not going to be like a Steeler crowd. Pitt football is nothing like the entitled mess that is a Steeler Sunday. It's so much more laid back, and yes, family friendly. I don't see that changing. Most of Pitt's home games will have 45K or less. I think kickoff times will have alot to do with how much beer is sold. At 50, I no longer wish to start drinking at 11AM, and I think that's probably the case with alot of people. Those noon kickoffs will have low sales. The prime time games will be rowdier. Tailgating will be heavier. At least I would hope that it would be, meaning the team is playing well. Increase security, and not the 20 year old girls in the yellow "Event Staff" shirts. Make sure proper ID'ing is happening.
Maybe use 2015 as a trial run, and reevaluate the situation after the season.
 
Pitt athletics has been losing tens of millions every year. If there was a small fortune to be made off of beer sales you can bet they would be selling beer. It not like most venues where an entire new system needs to be put in place in order to accommodate sales. I think they probably have run the numbers and by the time the steelers and Aramark get their cuts there is simply not enough meat on the bone for Pitt to go ahead with it.


I also don't buy the WVU less incidents claim. Those statistics can be manipulated easily just by police policy. Sure you can lower incidents by just telling them to remove unruly fans when in the past they have arrested or sited them. That simple change and you have lower incidents and it supports your change.
 
Like Ped St is losing tens of millions of dollars to pay off victims, lawyers, fines, repaint the Lasche Bld, tear down the statue of an enabler, etc etc



Pitt athletics has been losing tens of millions every year. If there was a small fortune to be made off of beer sales you can bet they would be selling beer. It not like most venues where an entire new system needs to be put in place in order to accommodate sales. I think they probably have run the numbers and by the time the steelers and Aramark get their cuts there is simply not enough meat on the bone for Pitt to go ahead with it.


I also don't buy the WVU less incidents claim. Those statistics can be manipulated easily just by police policy. Sure you can lower incidents by just telling them to remove unruly fans when in the past they have arrested or sited them. That simple change and you have lower incidents and it supports your change.
 
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Pitt athletics has been losing tens of millions every year. If there was a small fortune to be made off of beer sales you can bet they would be selling beer. It not like most venues where an entire new system needs to be put in place in order to accommodate sales. I think they probably have run the numbers and by the time the steelers and Aramark get their cuts there is simply not enough meat on the bone for Pitt to go ahead with it.


I also don't buy the WVU less incidents claim. Those statistics can be manipulated easily just by police policy. Sure you can lower incidents by just telling them to remove unruly fans when in the past they have arrested or sited them. That simple change and you have lower incidents and it supports your change.
I agree with you about the WVU claims. Are we to believe if incidents rose because of selling beer, they would abandon it? LOL - that will never happen, so it's in their best interests to "prop up" the decision.
 
Let's be truthful, people don't care about Pitt making an extra half a mill, they just want a reason to excuse their buffoonery.
 
Some Chuckee Cheez (sp) actually sell beer...don't know what my point is, but anyway...

Disney World also sells beer and I'm not sure there are many other places in the world that are more family oriented than that.
 
I don't notice the club areas having any more rude fan behavior than not and there are alot of kids there. Even when there are large crowds there, nowhere near how a steeler or nfl game is. Snooty and weird though.
 
Disney World also sells beer and I'm not sure there are many other places in the world that are more family oriented than that.

Pretty sure - with the possible exception of Epcot and Downtown Disney - it's only in the sit down restaurants. I don't think that crowd is looking to get hammered.
In all the times I've been there, I don't ever recall seeing anybody intoxicated.
 
Disney World also sells beer and I'm not sure there are many other places in the world that are more family oriented than that.
That's because Dad is broke after paying hundreds to get the little terrors in the place.
 
I am not anti-beer sales by any means. However, these projections don't seem wildly optimistic to anyone? They seem insanely optimistic to me.
I think the math is essentially the same as WVU, but before the vendor split. Pitt's vendor split is probably not as favorable. I could see us generating enough to cover football's COAs.
 
Pitt athletics has been losing tens of millions every year. If there was a small fortune to be made off of beer sales you can bet they would be selling beer. It not like most venues where an entire new system needs to be put in place in order to accommodate sales. I think they probably have run the numbers and by the time the steelers and Aramark get their cuts there is simply not enough meat on the bone for Pitt to go ahead with it.


I also don't buy the WVU less incidents claim. Those statistics can be manipulated easily just by police policy. Sure you can lower incidents by just telling them to remove unruly fans when in the past they have arrested or sited them. That simple change and you have lower incidents and it supports your change.

Well you certainly are likely an expert on manipulation. Pitt did not sell booze to the unwashed masses because the prior administration did not think it was a good idea. Whether that will change, I guess time will tell. I suspect it will have little or no impact on attendance. Since the cut that Pitt takes on concessions is not widely known, it is pretty hard to estimate what revenue may or may not be there. I will keep my seats in the Club regardless of what is decided. Hail to Pitt!
 
This is the answer. I have 4 current tickets for my family group. I can assure you for the next 10 years, my quota would reduce to 2 because I am not subjecting my young son to rude fan behavior. I think most of us know what NFL games are like and if we are using the revenues of WVU as an example, the question is would pitt make that profit vs those that stay home. I am sure it would equal a profit, but would I do it? No.

Conversely on the other end, you rarely get that behavior at baseball games or hockey outside of the games that people excessively tailgate (opening day, playoffs)
I don't understand how some think selling beer in the stadium would so adversely affect the fan behavior. I think (like some others have said) it actually helps prevent more people from being out of control drunk. At $7-8 a beer, no one is going to be able to afford to drink more than 5, maybe 6 beers at the game. IMO it stops that ahole guy from pounding 3 beers from the lot to the stadium because he knows he can get a few inside. Plus, it stops many of those same people from sneaking liquor into the games.
 
Lot's of Vodka makes it through the gate yearly. I don't see any of these people causing violent behavior. I think you either are an "A"hole or you're not. Alcohol may magnify this fact. It certainly does make you one.
 
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