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Fans walk through the concourse before an MLB game between the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres on Friday, May 28, 2021, at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer
It’s no secret Houston fans love to cheer on the Astros with a cold drink in hand, but you might be surprised at how much.
Minute Maid Park sold the second-highest amount of alcohol of any professional sports venue in the state last year, finishing behind only the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, according to data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts .
In 2022 alone, fans spent more than $28 million on alcohol at Minute Maid Park’s bars while cheering on the team to another World Series title . That's only 22% less than customers spent at AT&T Stadium — an impressive feat considering the capacity at Minute Maid Park is less than half that of the Arlington football venue.
Just because Dallas reported more revenue from alcohol sales in 2022 doesn’t mean Cowboys fans are actually consuming more alcoholic beverages overall. Since the data only reflects the total amount of money spent on alcoholic beverages and prices vary depending on the venue, higher reported revenues can be a reflection of a higher price-point per beverage rather than the total volume of beverages sold.
MORE ALCOHOL SALES: These 15 bars and restaurants were Houston's top alcohol sellers in 2022
Many professional sports venues also hold non-sports events, such as music concerts, which account for some of the alcohol sales data.
Minute Maid Park reported close to 50% more alcohol revenue in 2022 than the venue did in 2021. The venue’s alcohol sales have steadily increased year over year the last five seasons — save for a drop in 2020 during the pandemic-shortened season. This steady increase coincides with the Astros’ historic run on the field that includes four World Series appearances and six consecutive ALCS appearances since 2017.
Contrary to trends in statewide alcohol sales , beer sales brought in more revenue than liquor at the top three stadiums in the list — AT&T Stadium, Minute Maid Park, and Globe Life Park — according to our analysis. Overall, beer accounted for about 44% of the $146 million spent on alcohol at Texas professional sports venues in 2022, while liquor sales accounted for 50% of alcohol revenue, and wine sales accounted for the remaining 6%.
Despite the large amount of money people spend on alcohol at Texas professional sports venues, the revenue from these venues only accounted for a small portion of the state’s overall alcohol sales last year. In 2022, bars, restaurants and venues in Texas reported over $9.6 billion in alcohol sales overall, and only 1.5% of those sales were at professional sports stadiums.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that stadium alcohol sales accounted for .6% of total alcohol sales in Texas in 2022. Stadium alcohol sales accounted for 1.5% of total alcohol sales in the state in 2022.
