Alcohol at football plans supported by local club as Stirling fans enjoy tipple
Stirling Albion unveiled a complimentary beer tasting ahead of their weekend home match - with the club having a successful trial of alcohol at a 'fanzone' earlier this summer.
Football fans in Stirling over the weekend enjoyed the chance for an extra special tipple as part of a newly launched initiative as club chiefs gave backing to alcohol sales at matches once again.
The launch of the new draught beer system at the stadium was unveiled ahead of the match between Stirling Albion and Annan Athletic on Saturday, with fans of both clubs enjoying complimentary tastings of beers run by West Brewery.
The new service also featured a ‘bottom-fill’ system for fans wanting an alcoholic drink ahead of kick-off to enjoy a flawless pint.
It’s the latest innovation run by Stirling Albion as the debate around alcohol and Scottish football continues to grow over the summer.
The Binos were one of several clubs across Scotland who took part in a pilot project during the recent Premier Sports Cup fixtures, with a special ‘fanzone’ set up at the Forthbank terracing to allow alcohol sales in the build-up to a fixture against Hamilton Accies.
The club’s commercial director, Fraser McIntyre, gave the Observer a special tour of the facilities on offer for fans - and said the opportunity to bring controlled alcohol sales back to stadia could prove a financial boon for clubs across the country.
He said: “For us, it first started from the SPFL pilot project which started a few months ago and culminated with us having a fanzone at the Hamilton match a few weeks ago.
“We required a beer supplier for that to have partnership with and we spoke to the guys at West Brewery and whether they were willing to come and stock the beer, coming in and helping out.
“Through conversations on the fanzone, the brewery team discussed the possibility of a low maintenance, low destruction draft system so they put us in touch with a company which has allowed us to launch our supporters bar with a draught system which we haven’t been able to do before.
“This arrangement ticks a lot of boxes because we’ve been able to lock in our pricing with West for the year where previously we would have been vulnerable to changes in the market.”
The ban on alcohol inside stadiums was introduced following a riot between Celtic and Rangers supporters after the 1980 Scottish Cup Final.
Mr McIntyre is confident attitudes towards alcohol sales in football are starting to shift and that clubs possess the knowledge to ensure a return would be a safe one.
“I think there’s a place for it moving forward,” he continued.
“Alcohol sales in football stadia were banned due to a very high-profile game years ago and for clubs like us who are fighting financially, we have to look at different revenue sources.
“The pilot project is the perfect example. The SPFL were actually wanting to do that for the Hearts game but we saw that as too high-profile with a sell-out with thousands of Hearts fans here.
“It was the club’s decision not to run it that day and that shows we have the foresight and the understanding on picking and choosing the games that would be suitable for alcohol sales in collaboration with safety officers from both clubs.”