NC State tops NC schools in football attendance, alcohol sales in 2019

Despite a lackluster season on the field, NC State still managed to put butts in the seats during the 2019 football season, leading all North Carolina schools in average attendance per game. And those folks in the stands - maybe urged by what they saw on the field - put down more alcohol than any other school in the state.

Out of the UNC system’s FBS institutions, N.C. State reported the highest alcohol sales numbers in 2019, with $633,320 in gross sales from 74,029 units over seven home games, according to athletics department spokesmen Fred Demarest. N.C. State averaged 56,466.3 attendees per game in its 57,483-seat Carter-Finley Stadium in 2019.

UNC-Chapel Hill was second in average attendance at 50,500 fans per game, as they reported a sellout of all six home games in 2019 (because of course they reported a sellout of every home game).

It’s unclear what percentage of gross sales NC State will keep from the alcohol sold. The two schools that did indicate expense numbers show dramatic differences in expense ratio. Appalachian State reported expenses of $167,952 (54.0%) on $311,310 of gross sales. East Carolina reported expenses of $70,000 (24.8%) on gross sales of $282,000. Either ECU is way better at negotiating contracts than App, or one (or both) of those institutions are flubbing the numbers.

For anyone actually in Carter-Finley in 2019, it was obvious that keeping the butts in the seats for the entirety of the game was a significant problem. A better on-the-field product in 2020 should help boost even better alcohol sales for NC State next year.