Tuscaloosa Mayor Says Coleman Coliseum Alcohol Sales Deserve 'Continued Discussion'

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on Monday responded to a pointed statement made by University of Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne earlier in the day when he announced that UA would not be moving forward with alcohol sales in Coleman Coliseum at this time.

Click here to subscribe to our free Tuscaloosa Daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

As Patch previously reported, Byrne took aim at a service fee on tickets sold in venues where alcohol sales would be permitted, resulting in an increase in ticket prices. It was this component of the overall deal, he said, that resulted in UA's decision to pause the push for alcohol sales in campus venues.

“I respect Greg’s opinion and his record of accomplishment," Maddox said in a statement to Patch. "I respect even more the City’s responsibility to provide the safest environment possible. This issue is not new and deserves continued, personal and thoughtful discussion with all parties involved. Our police officers, firefighters, and paramedics deserve our best to ensure the safest environment possible for citizens and guests of the City of Tuscaloosa.”

The measure that included the additional fee was first passed by the city last September, when the Tuscaloosa City Council approved its budget for the current fiscal year.

The source of frustration from UA, though, focuses on an amendment to the city code introduced last week and approved by the full Council that would see the service fee increase based on occupancy at the event where alcohol is sold. For instance, for events with 1,000 to 19,999 attendees, the service fee would remain $1.

However, that fee is increased to $2 when attendance is 20,000 to 49,999 and $3 when the crowd is larger than 50,000. The biggest change brought by the amendment, however, raised the amount for events with more than 50,000 from $2.50 to $3.

District 4 Councilor Lee Busby, whose district includes a large part of the UA campus and Tuscaloosa's entertainment district, was the lone vote against the amendment.

"It is very unfortunate that the City of Tuscaloosa's plan would unreasonably target Alabama Athletics and our fans with a service fee on all tickets where alcohol is sold, even tickets sold to children," Byrne said in a statement posted on Twitter on Monday.

The initial statute went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year. And, according to the ordinance, the rate established will be increased at the beginning of each fiscal year after Oct. 1, 2023, which will be based on the prior fiscal year's increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

What's more, the revenue generated from the proposed service fee, according to city officials, would have been used to provide funding to the Tuscaloosa Police Department and Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue Service — two departments that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying financial belt-tightening to ensure essential city services are not impacted.

Patch previously reported when the Tuscaloosa City Council on Feb. 1 approved to grant the alcohol retail license for Coleman Coliseum, which opened the door for the selling of beer, wine and seltzers in the venue. The alcohol license was awarded to Levy Premium Food Service — who also manages alcohol sales for venues at Arkansas and Texas A&M — handles food service for concessions in Coleman Coliseum, in addition to Bryant-Denny Stadium.

In his statement, Byrne highlighted the economic impact of UA Athletics, which he says already pays 10% sales tax on all ticket sales, with 3% going directly to the City of Tuscaloosa

"That, alone, is estimated to be $1.3 million for the fiscal year," he said. "Our concessionaire also pays the City 10% sales tax on concession revenue from all athletic events, generating approximately $125,000 annually. In addition to the taxes paid directly from Alabama Athletics, fans and visiting teams also pay City lodging taxes for overnight stays and City sales tax at restaurants, bars and stores."

When considering the service fee, Byrne also pointed out that the University of Alabama Police Department, in addition to other security contractors hired by UA, make up the staffing for functions at Coleman Coliseum where alcohol would be sold.

However, Maddox pointed out earlier in the day on the Jay Barker Show on Tide 100.9 that longterm plans for alcohol sales also included Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"During the course of the [alcohol license] application for Coleman, it was disclosed that they were going to be doing the same for Bryant-Denny Stadium and certainly that's a whole 'nother dynamic when you basically put an entire city within three square blocks," Maddox told the sports radio talk show. "It becomes then the responsibility of the taxpayer, who has a significant investment already within the stadium and without the stadium, to deal with those issues."

Indeed, a 2015 SB Nation report showed that the Tuscaloosa Police Department spent $544,459.50 on overtime pay to police all seven Alabama home games in 2014. Considering those figures were from nearly a decade ago, the number in the present day is likely higher.

While overtime figures for Alabama football games from the last season were not readily available before the publication of this story, the City of Tuscaloosa has paid out $3 million or more in police overtime in each of the last three fiscal years — a number that has been consistently decreasing with each new budget cycle.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com