Georgia’s Sanford Stadium won’t have the largest new premium seating area for beer and wine sales at football game, but it might have the priciest.
According to a letter from UGA’s Bulldog Club to donors obtained by DawgNation, “only donors at the $100,000 Magill Society commitment level and above” will be able to request two season passes and must do so by July 15.
To be guaranteed a spot in the 400-capacity lounge, only Magill Society donors who have pledged $250,000 or more will be guaranteed the right to purchase up to two season passes to the club-level area.
Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity told DawgNation at the SEC Spring Meetings this week that the new premium area will be located above Gate 6 on the 200 (club) level, overlooking East Campus Road.
“It’s in a certain space on the 200 level that will be cordoned off for a certain classification of the Magill Society, where they will be able to buy beer and wine with certain restrictions, and it has to be consumed in the area,” McGarity said. “We don’t expect people to be hanging out there, because there will be limits placed on the amount one can consume.”
The playing field will not be visible from the lounge, which will open two hours before kickoff, but there will be flat-screen televisions where patrons can follow the game action.
“We are excited to be able to provide a new premium hospitality area for our donors,” UGA deputy athletic director Matt Borman wrote in the letter. “We have been so fortunate to have such an influx of Magill Society donors over the past few years, and this newly created opportunity will enable us to help enhance the game day experience.
"We continue to seek additional opportunities to impact as many donors as possible beginning with this exclusive experience this fall.”
The Magill Society requires a minimum donation of $25,000, at a clip of $5,000 a year.
Georgia has long had alcohol in its suites, but this newest premium seating area marks the first time beer and alcohol has been available at the club level, as first reported in a DawgNation story earlier this week.
SEC presidents and chancellors are expected to put the league’s current SEC alcohol sales policy to a vote Friday morning.
A change in league-wide policy will not necessarily translate to a change for fans in general seating areas at Sanford Stadium on football Saturdays.
UGA President Jere Morehead told DawgNation on Thursday he feels good about Georgia’s current policy.
“I think we’ve got it right at UGA,” said Morehead, in his seventh year as school president, “so I don’t see us making any significant changes.”
