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Purdue Replacing Bleachers At Ross-Ade With South End Zone Patio

http://www.purduesports.com/

Purdue University will sell more beer and wine at football games this fall, but only in one section of Ross-Ade Stadium.   The bleachers have been removed from the south end of the stadium, and while permanent plans are still being drawn up, the area will feature the South End Zone Patio this season.

"We wanted to provide an area where our season ticket holders and our student ticket holders that have VIP passes have a place where they could gather, have some food, have some beverages and just hang out," said Matt Rector, Purdue‘s Associate Athletics Communications Director. "Our Athletics Director, Morgan Burke, wanted it to be the ultimate man-cave."

A large tent will be set up, along with tables and chairs, and for the first time outside a club area near the press box, adult beverages will be sold in the patio section. It will be open starting 90 minutes before kickoff and will close immediately when the game ends and have capacity for about 1,600 people. Fans will not be allowed to take beer or wine from the patio area to another part of the stadium, and Rector says Purdue is not looking to expand alcohol sales to the rest of Ross-Ade. Rector says Purdue envisions the patio as a place where fans who are eligible to go in can drop by for a drink before returning to their regular seats, though fans theoretically will be allowed to watch an entire game from the patio if they choose. The patio is also not permanent.

"We‘re still in the design stages for the permanent structure for the South end zone," Rector said. "We‘re still in the beginning stages of that process, so until we are ready to go with the permanent structure, this is what we‘ll go with."

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