At the old beer game

Metrodome beer vendor Jeff Scroggins knows a drunk fan when he sees one: slurring words, avoiding eye contact, trying to mask how much he or she has had. He said he won't sell them any of the $6.75 bottles he carries through the stands.

"I'm here to make money, but you gotta be responsible," Scroggins said.

Not all vendors are so scrupulous, a University of Minnesota study of alcohol sales at the "big four" pro sports events has found. The study, released Wednesday by the university's Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, looked at 16 sports stadiums in five states from September 2005 to November 2006. It found that nearly three out of four people posing as intoxicated fans and one out of five trying to pass as underage drinkers without ID succeeded in buying alcohol.

Underage or intoxicated drinkers have about equal chances of being served regardless of whether they're attending pro football, basketball, baseball or hockey games, said lead researcher Traci Toomey, an associate professor at the university's School of Public Health.

Because the study involved human subjects, Toomey said, she couldn't give any specifics on the stadiums, not even saying in what parts of the country the stadiums are located. She wants to focus on the problem nationwide, saying stadiums are a "high-risk setting" for alcohol use.

Drinking at the stadium

"Alcohol is related to a lot of problems we deal with in our society," she said. "At a stadium, you have a large group of people trying to watch a game. They don't want a drink spilled on them, they don't want to be next to a fight breaking out, they don't want to have someone next to them so loud they can't hear the game, they don't want to get in their car and have someone next to them who's had too much to drink."

The study hired people older than 21 who were judged to look underage and actors selected on their ability to feign drunkenness. The actors would slur their words, fumble with money and repeat themselves while trying to buy a drink, sometimes spraying themselves with alcohol beforehand to add to the effect.

Those pretending to be underage would try to buy a beer without ID, Toomey said.

The subjects found that buying alcohol in the stands was nearly three times easier than at a concession stand.

At the Metrodome, vendors are "very proactive" about illegal alcohol sales, said Dennis Alfton, director of operations.

32 seats of difficulty

Vendors in the seating area are required to check ID of anyone who looks too young to drink legally, though that can be difficult because there may be as many as 32 seats between aisles, Alfton said.

"That is a challenge, and one we're looking at," he said. "If employees are found to sell to underage drinkers, they are immediately terminated."

The Metrodome has passed recent compliance checks by the city, he said. "Those issues are high priorities for us and have been so for a number of years," Alfton said.

Scroggins said he's been trained to recognize drunken patrons but doesn't see them "as often as you might think." "The bigger the game, the more it happens," he said. He added that other fans often tip vendors off when a would-be buyer has already had too much.

Twins fans tend to be responsible drinkers, said vendor Ryan Wegner, who was selling beer in the cheap seats of the Metrodome during the Twins victory over Oakland on Wednesday.

"People, if they're drinking at all, usually only have two or three beers," he said.

Underage drinking is a well-publicized problem, Toomey said. The consequences of more drinking by those who are already drunk has gotten less attention.

She said she hopes stadiums are concerned about both situations. "My goal as a researcher in public health is to identify issues that may contribute to problems we're facing in our society," she said. "Hopefully, it opens up a dialogue."

Libby Nelson • 612-673-4758