Winthrop University will sell beer and wine at baseball and softball games

Winthrop University will begin selling beer and wine at its baseball and softball stadiums Friday, the university announced this week.

During the baseball home opener against Toledo, patrons who are over 21 years old will be able to buy beer and wine inside the stadium until the bottom of the seventh inning, according to a news release from Winthrop University.

Softball fans will be able to purchase alcohol at the stadium during the home opener against Longwood on March 15. Alcohol sales at softball games will end at the start of the fifth inning, according to the release.

“We are always looking for new ways to improve the game day experience for our fans,” Ken Halpin, Winthrop’s vice president of intercollegiate athletics, said in the release. “We are running this as a trial program and if successful, we intend to expand the program to events at the (Winthrop) Coliseum.”

Winthrop follows several other schools in the state that sell alcohol at sporting events. College of Charleston, The Citadel and Coastal Carolina University all sell alcohol at some sporting events, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston.

Last year, the University of South Carolina successfully applied for a liquor license to serve alcohol at Williams-Brice Stadium during the Jay-Z/Beyonce concert. University officials have insisted they have no intention of selling alcohol at football games, something that would violate Southeastern Conference rules.

This story was originally published February 15, 2019 at 9:20 AM with the headline "Winthrop University will sell beer and wine at baseball and softball games."