On-campus beer sales coming soon?

The state's governing body on higher education could move a step closer next week to allowing beer sales on South Dakota's six public university campuses.

The South Dakota Board of Regents is set to address the issue Wednesday at its meeting at Black Hills State University in Spearfish.

And the board is ready to push the measure to the Statehouse if the regents can agree on where on-campus beer and wine could be sold, said Paul Turman, vice president for academic affairs with the Board of Regents.

“Legislation has been drafted in the event that the board is interested,” Turman said.

In addition to sporting events, the change could include performing arts venues and other special events. State law does not forbid serving alcohol – think designated tailgating – but on-site sales are not allowed.

The regents will decide whether to move forward with the legislation after they hear a report from a task force appointed to look into the issue in October.

The group's report to the regents indicates that students at four of the six institutions support allowing alcohol sales on campus with proper safety precautions. The students at Dakota State University were split in support of the measure, and students at Northern State University opposed it.

Reports from South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota indicated that the schools could make more than $120,000 in additional gross concessions revenue if they were able to sell beer at football games. NSU could see a $25,000 gross concessions revenue boost, and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology could see an additional $15,000 in gross concessions revenue.

DSU and Black Hills State University indicated that they would see negligible revenue boosts from the change.

Turman said the regents had suggested the proposed change might not make it to the stadiums.

“They're looking more in the donor environment rather than out in the concessions stands,” Turman said.

The measure's supporters say allowing on-campus alcohol sales could boost event attendance and revenue and could help each university's ability to manage risk.

Opponents say allowing alcohol sales on campus could encourage binge drinking and create additional problems for universities and the municipalities in which they're located.

In the task force's report, the group said there were still questions left to be resolved about what would change if the measure were approved. They suggested taking another year to consider the policy to "fine tune" a proposal.

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