Henderson State University alcohol sales plan advances

A plan to sell beer, wine and mixed drinks at certain locations on the Henderson State University campus includes a restricted area at the university’s football stadium, an Arkansas State University System spokesman said Friday.

The Arkadelphia campus can enter into an agreement with Sodexo Management Inc. to serve alcoholic beverages after a vote Friday by the ASU System board of trustees at its meeting in Little Rock.

Jeff Hankins, ASU System spokesman, said in an email that a permit application remains pending before the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

Hankins said Sodexo submitted a Large Attendance Facility permit application. He said that even with the board’s resolution, alcohol sales will be restricted and not be opened up to all fans of legal age at Carpenter-Haywood Stadium.

Documents presented to trustees state that Sodexo would be allowed to serve alcoholic beverages in the “donor room area” of the stadium, as well as a few other campus sites, including the Garrison Center, which includes conferencing areas.

Other sites that would be open to alcohol sales include a pair of historic properties: the Captain Henderson House, which is a bed-and-breakfast inn, and the Barkman House.

Newberry House, which serves as the chancellor’s residence and is used to host receptions, is also on the list of sites where Sodexo would be able to serve alcohol, according to board documents.

“This agreement will create new revenue opportunities for the HSU Foundation and the Arkadelphia area,” the board documents stated.

The board’s resolution passed by a vote of 5-1 with no discussion.

Bishop Robert G. Rudolph Jr. voted against the resolution. Rudolph is a jurisdictional bishop in the St. Maarten Rehoboth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, which is part of the Church of God in Christ Inc., a Christian organization in the Holiness-Pentecostal tradition.

Another board member, Steve Eddington, was absent from the vote.

Eddington, vice president of public relations at the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, attended the meeting but was “in and out” because the Farm Bureau held an annual board meeting also on Friday, ASU System President Chuck Welch said.

Henderson State University, which has approximately 2,900 students, joined the ASU System last year. It has experienced financial troubles in recent years and in 2019 received a $ 6 million loan from the state’s Budget Stabilization Trust Fund.