Alcohol ban excludes skyboxes

Official says alcohol is catered to boxes, not sold by stadium

By Katrina Garcia
The Collegian

The CSU policy banning alcohol sales at athletic events excludes anyone watching a Bulldogs football game from a skybox suite.

Skybox suite-holders and their guests are permitted to drink alcohol at the games — an exception to the rule causing some students and fans to question the equality of the policy, which went into effect Sept. 1 at Fresno State’s first home game of the season.

Dean of Student Affairs Paul Oliaro said the reason Fresno State skyboxes are allowed to contain alcohol is because it is a regular practice by other campuses with alcohol bans.

“The vast majority do allow alcohol in suites,” Oliaro said of alcohol-banned stadiums. “We don’t sell it, it’s catered. That’s a common practice.”

Oliaro also said fans watching from the suites haven’t caused any trouble in the past.

“We have not had problems with people in skyboxes,” he said.

Oliaro said people who have attended the past two games this season have told him game days have changed for the better because of the ban, and the policy is consistent with “the spirit of the policy” of the CSU system.

The ban, which prohibits alcohol from being sold at Bulldog Stadium, is CSU policy.

The CSU policy went into effective in December 2005. The ban was not required to go into effect until the vendor contracts of the Bulldog Stadium expired, which was supposed to be at the end of the 2007-2008 school year.

However, Oliaro said the decision was made to begin the ban this season in order to improve the overall atmosphere of the games as soon as possible.

Oliaro said since Fresno State implemented the ban, fans have seen a positive change at games.

“Fans said it’s been a very different atmosphere — less rowdy behavior,” he said. “We’re pleased with the way the game day atmosphere has improved.”

Students discussed the alcohol ban and felt a sense of inequality because of the skybox exemption.

“It makes me feel as a student that I was not being treated as an equal to people that are in the skyboxes,” Fresno State student Darrel Smith said.

Smith believes the ban should not exclude anyone — and that includes those enjoying the game from the skyboxes.

“I feel that if you’re going to have a policy that affects certain people it should affect everybody, regardless of how much you pay or your income. If you’re going to have a zero-tolerance policy, the people in the skyboxes should have to abide by the rules of the people in the stands.”

Smith also said if the ban was not in effect, he would drink alcohol but not heavily.

“If there was an alcoholic beverage there I enjoyed and I did not drive, I would enjoy one at the game,” he said.

Roberto Juarez believes since fans in the skyboxes are drinking alcohol, everyone in the stadium should be able to drink as well.

“If the people in the skyboxes want to have a good time, why shouldn’t the little people have a good time?” he said.

Juarez, a sophomore sociology major, said he doesn’t think the ban has a great impact because fans will still drink regardless of the lack of alcohol sales at the stadium.

“They just go in drunk,” Juarez said, “and they’ll just bring more beer to the tailgate.”

Despite the possibility some people may still attempt to sneak alcohol into the stadium, Oliaro said the primary reason fans attend the games is simple — they just want to enjoy watching a football game.

“People are willing to accept policies,” he said. “Most people come to the game to watch it. Everything else is secondary.”

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