Friday it was announced that he SEC has lifted the ban on stadium-wide alcohol sales, with restrictions, effective August 1. However, don’t expect it to become a free-flowing situation just yet. The new aodption is just a guide. It will be up to each school to determine what policies they want to enact.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told reporters “There is no expectation that anyone make alcohol available beyond clubs and suites.”

It would be surprising to see Alabama do too much with this beyond the already in place serving in club suites. Maybe in the future, it could spread to the masses sooner [if you pester Greg Byrne just enough].

Aaron Sutlles may have touched on the real incentive for this change.

Other schools in other conferences have reasoned that allowing alcohol sales at football games cuts down on fans chugging beers in the parking lot and entering the stadium sloshed out of their gourdes. Some try to sell the idea of “improving the fan experience”. At some of these godawful programs in the Big Ten this may be accurate but the truth is the revenue generated from sales and advertising has great potential to be an explosion of cash. Of course this will just get the college-players-should-be-paid carpers all in a tizzy.

Is this a good idea or bad idea? To what extent should Alabama expand this policy? Long slow-moving lines at concession stands and bathrooms are already a big issue at Bryant Denny. How can they fix these problems with open-to-all alcohol sales? And what about that obnoxious so-and-so sitting behind your kid yelling words that would make Lenny Bruce blush?

Price for a beer* at National Football League games in the 2018 season, by team (in U.S. dollars)