Fan behavior a brewing issue.

• Author: Schley, Stewart
• Position: Sports Biz

INDIANA PACERS FORWARD RON ARTEST BROKE THE proscenium arch--the symbolic fourth wall dividing fan and athlete--when he plunged into the stands during an ugly Friday night melee in November. But in the aftermath of the incident, NBA Commissioner David Stern took on an even more hallowed domain--the love fest between fan and beer.

In issuing penalties against Artest and eight other players involved in the fracas at Detroit's Palace at Auburn Hills, a contrite Stern mentioned a subject rarely discussed in public by sports team owners or their league bosses.

"Alcohol is an issue we are going to have to examine," said Stern.

You could almost hear the people at the Beer Institute moan. (Yes, there is such a thing. Based in Washington, D.C., it's the lobbying and PR organization for brewers.)

Of course, nobody wants to see another incident like the one that occurred in Detroit. Sandwiched in the news cycle between a player brawl at the Clemson-South Carolina football game and revelations of steroid use in Major League Baseball, the Artest vs. fans skirmish was another unwelcome reminder of the dark side of organized sport, which seems to have made the transition in a single generation from a glorious sort of escapism to a deeply flawed institution.

But Stern isn't fooling around. He knows it's critical to the economic interests of team owners to assure fans that going out to a ballgame remains a fun and safe experience. Still, any prospective restriction on the sale of alcohol at games would have deep economic consequences for teams and stadium owners. With cups of suds costing fans $7 or more at many venues, beer represents a hugely profitable income source that helps teams cope with escalating player salaries and other costs of doing business.

Just how profitable is hard to gauge. Teams are about as excited about sharing figures on alcohol sales as they are dealing with player holdouts. A Pepsi Center spokesman didn't respond to inquiries about beer consumption during Denver Nuggets games, or whether the team anticipates re-examining its policies on alcohol sales in light of Stern's comment.

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For teams, selling alcohol means managing a delicate balancing act. Most sports organizations that peddle alcohol make efforts to guard against overindulgence and its consequences. The Nuggets, for example, halt sales with seven minutes remaining during games, refuse to sell alcohol to patrons who are visibly inebriated, and promote...