Sodexo Operations, the company that provides food service on college campuses around the country, has asked the state for permits to serve alcohol at Henderson State University’s Garrison Center and Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia.
Sodexo requested the permits from the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division in September.
“The request is for Sodexo to be able to serve alcohol at donor events at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and special events at Garrison Center, pending board approval and the permitting process,” Tina Hall, interim vice chancellor of university advancement and associate vice chancellor of marketing and communications, told your Whispers staff in an email.
The Arkansas State University System board of trustees will consider a request from HSU and Sodexo at its Dec. 3 meeting, Hall said. Henderson officially became part of the A-State System earlier this year.
The permit is for spirits, wine and beer. “There is no target date for when alcohol could be served for special events, pending approval,” she said.
Whispers’ memory is incomplete, but Hall said, “I am not aware that any previous food service vendors that have applied for or received a permit or that the university had a policy in place; this is just new for us.”
A-State’s board in April 2015 approved a 10-year lease agreement with the nonprofit NEA Sports Club of Jonesboro allowing the club to sell alcoholic beverages in certain areas on campus. In July 2015, the ABC approved a large-event facility permit application from NEA Sports Club, and the way was cleared for the sale, beginning in September of that year, of beer, wine and mixed drinks to the club’s members.
