Royals push beer sales back to get more money. That puts Kansas City fans at risk | Opinion

Did the Kansas City Royals error by extending concession stand beer sales at Kauffman Stadium into the eighth inning? We think so.

If it wasn’t concerning enough that private VIP suites at the ballpark serve booze until 30 minutes after a game ends, the last thing we need is legions of liquored up fans driving home after the home team plays.

We are not against responsible drinking. And the organization has to make a buck tending to fans’ needs — who doesn’t enjoy a cold adult beverage at the ballpark?

Because of quicker games, it is quite possible fans are spending less time and money at The K, Major League Baseball observers argue.

But the team’s recent announcement that beer sales would extend into the bottom of the eighth inning is problematic. Why not beer available for consumption all nine innings?

We think not.

The organization’s bottom line should not come at the expense of public safety.

Strike one!

And make no bones about it, extending alcohol sales at Kauffman Stadium could potentially put folks at risk. Heavy drinking can result in ugly consequences, alcohol prevention advocates say.

Excessive drinking is a real problem. Each year, more than 140,000 people in the U.S. die from excessive alcohol use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The deaths are preventable, the CDC says. Deadly alcohol-related car wrecks and alcohol poisoning fueled by binge drinking are leading contributors to those premature deaths, according to the CDC.

Another strike!

The average American adult drinks approximately 2 1/2 gallons of alcohol per year, of which 10% is consumed while attending sporting events, according to a National Center for Health Statistics study.

On average, an adult drinks about one-quarter gallon of alcohol while at a sporting event, the study concluded.

Strike three, you’re out!

The protocol change at Kauffman Stadium can be revisited at any time, Royals officials said. Why allow alcohol purchases into the eighth inning to begin with?

The seventh inning is the cutoff at most MLB stadiums, as it should be at the latest. Could ending alcohol consumption after the sixth inning potentially save lives?

At least one big league pitcher believes so.

Philadelphia’s Matt Strahm — a former Royal — called out the handful of teams extending beer sales, saying fans will have less time to sober up and drive home. We share his concerns.

“The reason we stopped it in the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct?” he asked Thursday on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “So now with a faster-pace game, and me just being a man of common sense, if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up and drive home? “Instead, we’re going to the eighth, and now you’re putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago.”

But Strahm knows what’s behind the change: money. “When you mess with billionaires’ dollars, they find a way to make their dollars back,” he said.

Recent rule changes have sped up baseball games this season — 31 fewer minutes of game play on average, according to the league.

Allowing extended time to serve up booze because a new pitch clock rule has cut about an half hour from play is not the solution, though, traffic safety advocates contend.

The league does not regulate how teams sell alcohol. But the Royals organization must use caution and revisit its new policy to serve up a limitless flow of booze into the eighth inning.