House votes to allow drinking for everyone at new TCF stadium
The House today (April 29) on a voice vote amended its liquor bill to allow for all adults attending Gopher football games at the new TCF Stadium to drink alcoholic beverages.
As previously written in the bill, only those in selected stadium seating could consume beer, wine, whatever.
But Rep. Leon Lillie, DFL-North St. Paul, offered the amendment to open the entire stadium to drinking.
“I haven’t drank for 20 years — but I’m thinking about it,” Lillie joked on the House floor.
A Minneapolis DFL lawmaker, Rep. Phyllis Kahn, argued against the amendment, arguing it could result in inebriated fans walking through nearby residential areas after a football game.
She pointed to last weekend’s spring fest mini-riot as evidence of the danger of mixing high-spirited students with booze.
But Rep. Al Juhnke, DFL-Willmar, opined that the change in the legal drinking age was the real culprit behind the antics at the university.
“The kids drink before they get to the games,” he said.
If university officials don’t like the idea of opening the entire stadium to drinking, then “shut it off — the whole place,” Juhnke said.
University officials in discussing drinking policy at the new stadium expressed concern over underage drinking and also that the stadium lacked the proper plumbing to allow for beer sales everywhere, the bill author explained.
