Alcohol sales will be limited Saturday night on the University of Illinois campus in anticipation of potential property damage and excessive celebrations if Illinois beats Iowa in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four, Champaign city officials announced Friday.
The emergency order will include a requirement for all bars on campus to sell alcohol in paper and plastic cups, a ban on all sales of “packaged liquor” beginning one hour after tipoff and a rule that no liquor establishment citywide can sell more than a single keg to an individual customer. The order will also include a ban on any delivery drivers bringing alcohol to or from campus beginning one hour after tipoff.
The order was issued after local police expressed concerns about Illinois fans celebrating their team’s win over Houston in the Sweet 16 on Thursday and fears that the aftermath of Saturday’s game “may be a threat to the public health, safety and welfare from celebratory activities by members of the public within the geographic areas described.”
“While we cheer the Illini basketball team on to victory this weekend, I want to remind fans to follow the team’s lead and to celebrate responsibly,” Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen said in a statement. “These steps are being taken to reduce the possibility of public safety hazards before and after the game. I expect all our students, residents, and visitors to celebrate all the accomplishments of this amazing team respectfully, responsibly, and safely.”
Jeff Hamilton, deputy liquor commissioner in Champaign, told ESPN that students were “climbing on statues” on Thursday night, alarming local officials who implemented the restrictions the following day.
He said the city has not issued similar alcohol restrictions in 20 years.
“We made a run to the championship game in 2005. At that time, they had done some of this also,” Hamilton told ESPN. “We’re doing something similar to what we did the last time we had a deep run in the tournament.”
He said the city doesn’t want glass bottles to become “a hazard” on Saturday night, which is why it is limiting packaged liquor sales and requiring campus bars to sell alcohol strictly in paper and plastic cups.
“We’re just doing this for public safety reasons,” he said. “The bars are still open. They just have to do it in paper and plastic cups. That’s the biggest thing. No, it’s not an alcohol ban.”
Illinois is in the Elite Eight for the second time since 2005 after defeating Houston on Thursday night at the Toyota Center in Houston. Saturday’s game against Iowa will be the second matchup of the year between the Big Ten schools. Illinois won the previous meeting 75-69 in Iowa City in January.
