This article is part of the Reveille’s LSU football preview coverage. Read all of it here.
With Week 1 of the 2025 college football season just days away, LSU head coach Brian Kelly and his Tigers are making final adjustments before heading into a hostile Memorial Stadium environment, hoping to end a five-year trend of opening week defeats.
To the delight of both kinds of Tiger fans, for the first time in program history, Clemson will allow alcohol sales inside its football stadium.
Fans of the LSU Tigers and others in the SEC have enjoyed alcohol service in their stadiums since early 2019, when the conference lifted its alcohol ban. At Clemson, it just wasn’t a priority for the fans or the school administration, said Jon Allen, Clemson’s senior associate athletic director for facilities, operations and events.
In true fashion, however, the shift in attitude comes just in time for the Clemson Tigers, as No. 9 LSU travels to play No. 4 Clemson for the first time since LSU beat Clemson to win the 2019 national championship.
While the timing may feel poetic, Clemson’s decision wasn’t driven by the matchup. It’s been years in the making.
“This isn’t something where we said, ‘Oh, LSU’s coming to town, we need to figure this out,’” Allen said. “We’ve taken a fairly methodical kind of approach.”
The university planned to launch alcohol sales during basketball season last winter, but delays pushed the timeline back. Instead, Clemson tested alcohol sales during its spring football game in April and later expanded it to baseball, softball and even an appearance by the Savannah Bananas.
But Allen acknowledged the challenge that Clemson’s stadium operations staff will face.
“The first time we’ve ever done a football game — a game of this magnitude — is a tough assignment,” Allen said. “We will sell a lot, no doubt, and we will learn a lot. This will be the most pressure-tested we’re going to get all season.”
With that in mind, Clemson has spent months preparing for the moment. There will be drink limits per transaction, ID checks at all points of sale, no sales after the third quarter and increased medical and security presence. Still, Allen knows the real challenge may come after the final whistle.
“You’re literally adding another element here,” Allen said. “If we’re not prepared, we’re going to be swimming in aluminum cans.”
Clemson has worked with its janitorial provider and campus recycling team to brace for the influx of recyclable trash, and while that sounds like a logistical nightmare, it turns out it’s also a point of pride.
“There’s actually national recycling competitions between universities,” Allen said. “LSU and Clemson have been neck and neck before — literal recycling national champions. Our campus team is fired up.”
For Clemson, this is more than just a policy update. It’s a cultural shift. While it has embraced the modern wave of in-stadium alcohol sales, Allen emphasized that protecting the program’s family-oriented environment remains a top priority.
“We have a pretty good fan base here at Clemson, and you guys have a good fan base at LSU,” Allen said. “But there is an emphasis on family values and all of that here. While we want it to be rowdy and loud, let’s do it in a sportsmanlike way. I certainly hope [alcohol sales] don’t negatively influence that.”
“I’m hoping the family of four coming with two young kids can still enjoy the game and this doesn’t negatively impact their experience in any way, shape or form,” Allen said.
For LSU, though, it’s nothing new.
LSU began selling alcohol in Tiger Stadium in 2019 and quickly became a national leader in revenue from in-game sales, ranking second behind Ohio State, according to 2021 data.
So, how will Clemson handle its first beer-fueled football crowd?
“We feel like we’ve got a good plan in place,” Allen said. “We’ve been working hard to get here, and we’re excited to get this one under our belt.”
