Sprint Center has sold alcohol on public concourses for the Big 12 Conference men’s tournament for five years. (Courtesy Sprint Center) NCAA tourney allows beer, wine sales in public spaces for first time Tap the keg and pop the cork.   For the first time in NCAA history, sports venues playing host to the men’s basketball tournament can sell beer and wine in public spaces, apart from the suites and clubs. First- and second-round sites begin play today, followed by the Sweet 16 starting next Thursday, and the tourney culminates April 6 with the Final Four and April 8 with the national championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The same is true for the women’s basketball tournament, which tips off Friday and ends April 7 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. It’s a big change for the governing body of college athletics, which has tested the new policy… Continue Reading Starting Big Dance With a Toast

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.