Will Tennessee's last home game have beer? Neyland Stadium busts bring response from vendor

KNOXVILLE – Beer sales at Neyland Stadium generated $2.67 million last season, but the city of Knoxville isn't ignoring three recorded underage sales that have happened so far this season.

Aramark, the vending company that handles Neyland Stadium beer sales, doesn't believe the city's law department is being fair in its complaint, which seeks a 60-day suspension or total revocation of Aramark's beer permits at Neyland.

The complaint includes allegations that extend beyond the three reported incidents, citing general "disorderly" conduct on game days and incidents that happened under previous Aramark permits. Those things are out of Aramark's control, its lawyers argue.

As the Vols prepare to take on Missouri this weekend, fans are wondering whether alcohol will be available for the team's final home game and whether Aramark has a case to keep the beer flowing for seasons to come.

Will Neyland sell beer for Tennessee vs. Mizzou?

Aramark still holds permits for Neyland Stadium and will be able to sell beer for Tennessee's final home game against Missouri on Saturday.

Tennessee has hosted six games at Neyland Stadium so far this season. The underage incidents happened at games against Akron, Florida and Alabama.

How has Aramark responded to the city's complaint?

Aramark has issues with the city's complaint, which references arrests and criminal activities on game days at Neyland Stadium. City codes do not allow permit holders to operate venues in a "disorderly manner."

An attorney for Aramark filed a motion with the city Friday to strike portions of the complaint.

"These puzzling allegations related to the stadium, as lodged against Aramark in the context of this hearing, are both factually and legally inappropriate and should be stricken from the Complaint," the motion reads. "To be clear, Aramark denies without reservation any suggestion by the City that Neyland Stadium or any other UT property is operated in a “disorderly manner.'"

The motion states some conduct cited by the city happened outside stadium gates and should not be considered, "as intoxicated and disorderly individuals are turned away at the gate by law enforcement before they can ever enter the stadium or potentially have a sip of a beer served by Aramark."

Similarly, two violations were for criminal trespassing in the early morning hours after a game, according to the motion.

"Aramark does not control the premises, does not provide security, does not control who may or may not enter University property, and is not authorized to remove or eject patrons from the premises," reads the motion, which cites the Knoxville Police Department as one entity responsible for preventing disorderly conduct.

Aramark also wants to strike evidence related to violations under former permits.

How much money could be lost without beer sales?

That requires doing some guesswork, as a Dec. 5 pre-hearing conference is still a month away.

A hearing officer would decide when the 60 days start, according to the city's complaint, but the request is for a minimum of three home football games.

But let's say a 60-day ban starts at the beginning of next season on Sept. 2 when Tennessee takes on Virginia in Nashville. That means Neyland Stadium would be without beer for the team's first five home games against Austin Peay, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M and UCONN.

Beer only would be available for the final two games of the year against Georgia and Vanderbilt.

The first five home games of last season generated nearly $1.75 million.

The highest consumption of beer last season happened against Ole Miss in Tennessee's fifth home game. The Ole Miss game, alone, saw 47,890 drinks sold for $547,726.

Beer revenue, as reported by Knox News last year, is split 50/50 between the university and Aramark.

Have underage beer busts happened before at Neyland?

The three busts this season brought Neyland Stadium's total since alcohol sales began to 12, including seven that happened at Garth Brooks' concert in November 2019.

But in 2020, by applying for a new permit due to SEC policy changes, Aramark was able to start fresh, essentially making previous violations irrelevant.

Facing two underage violations stemming from last season, Aramark again applied for a new permit in July due to "an expansion of the premises," according to the city's complaint.

Again, Aramark's slate was wiped clean.

When did beer sales start at Neyland?

Neyland Stadium did not always sell beer.

However, due to a change in state legislation and SEC rules, beer sales were allowed to happen during the 2019 football season.

The Beer Board approved Aramark's original application for permits in July 2019 with a vote of 8-1. Aramark also was approved to sell beer at Thompson-Boling Arena and other campus venues.

Does Neyland get any special treatment based on size?

A suspension/revocation hearing is required after a vendor has three violations in a two-year span. This is standard for any business licensed to sell beer in city limits, no matter the size.

Aramark has a permit for the suite level of Neyland Stadium and the bowl level. The permit in question relates to the bowl, where the vast majority of fans sit for games.

"Aramark serves at a number of universities across the country, so these regulations are not new to them, and they’ve never objected to any of our regulations," Tommy Smith, beer board member and city councilman for the district including UT, told Knox News on Monday. "I can appreciate all the comments. I like cold beer like the next person, but it's got to be safe no matter how big the bar is.”

Aramark typically has more than 160 points of sale for beer on game days at Neyland Stadium, according to a remedial plan submitted to the Beer Board last month.

What's in place to stop underage sales?

Servers are "continually trained" to properly check IDs, according to the remedial plan, and servers who disregard training are fired. That includes the employees responsible for the first two violations.

Aramark's remedial plan was submitted prior to the third violation that led to the scheduled hearing.

Aramark implemented new ID scanning technology for the 2022 season, which should be used for every customer.

However, that technology failed intermittently during the Florida game, according to Aramark. Employees were told to manually check IDs, but one server still sold alcohol to an underage cadet with the Knoxville Police Department.

Aramark has since worked to improve the technology to allow for offline scanning which, according to Aramark, should prevent what happened at the Florida game.

What are the next steps?

Five hearing officers, all of whom are licensed local attorneys, are appointed by city council attorney Rob Frost.

Just one of those officers will be randomly assigned to the Neyland Stadium case and ultimately will make the decision about whether to suspend Aramark's permit or revoke it. The officer also could rule in Aramark's favor.

But first, a pre-hearing conference is scheduled for Dec. 5. Charges may be disposed without a hearing if the parties come to an agreement.

At the actual hearing, it is the city's responsibility to prove to the hearing officer "that it is more likely than not that the permittee is guilty of a noncompliance offense," according to city codes.

If the permit is completely revoked, Aramark could not apply to sell beer at Neyland Stadium for 10 years but could continue to serve at its other campus venues. The university could find another vendor to resume beer sales at Neyland Stadium after one year.

Knox News will be following this case closely to bring you the latest news. Check knoxnews.com for updates.

Ryan Wilusz, downtown reporter and urban explorer for Knox News, can be reached at 865-317-5138 or by email at ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com.

Follow Ryan's work on Instagram @KnoxScruff, and sign up for the free, weekly Urban Knoxville newsletter. Unlock premium perks and support strong local journalism at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football beer busts at Neyland Stadium: Aramark responds