North Carolina approves alcohol sales at college arenas and stadiums, Duke policy to stay the same

Although you can drink in certain private suites at Wallace Wade Stadium, Duke will still not allow alcohol sales throughout the concourse on game days.
Although you can drink in certain private suites at Wallace Wade Stadium, Duke will still not allow alcohol sales throughout the concourse on game days.

Don’t expect to crack open a cold one at a Duke game just yet.

North Carolina governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 389 into law Wednesday, which permits state schools, such as fellow ACC members North Carolina and North Carolina State, to sell alcohol at their arenas and stadiums.

Although some of its biggest rivals will be able to sell beer and wine at games next season, Duke will not follow suit. However, the new law may inspire the university to take action soon.

"We will continue to monitor the landscape of college athletics as it pertains to alcohol sales at events both on and off campuses, and certainly today’s news adds another element to the equation for schools in North Carolina," Duke's Senior Associate Director of Athletics Art Chase said.

Currently, Duke prohibits alcohol at almost all of its sporting events, save a few exceptions. At the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, where the Blue Devil baseball team plays a majority of its home games, fans of age can purchase drinks. Alcohol is also served in certain suites at Wallace Wade Stadium, but no beer or wine is sold in the general concourse area.

The bill comes in the wake of the SEC lifting its conference-wide ban on all alcohol sales last month. The ACC has no such policy in place.

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