If you want to nit pick about a little beer here and there, you can arugue all day. Hell where I come from they serve beer at the church picnic. And let me tell you on a hot sunday afternoon filled with polka music the beer flows!! Now I have been around junior hockey along time and Its enjoyable to watch a game and have a couple beers. Most junior games that I have been to beer is sold only until the 10 minute mark of the third period. (If you get 3 beers down your doing good) At the church picnic on the other hand polka bands go from noon until 9:00pm. (a little more tipping time at the ole picnic) The point is, junior teams bring so much more to the community, from hotel bookings,resturants shopping, ect. not to mention what the players do in the community. Most teams get involved non profit organizations like the Red cross, big brothers, and so on. You Will see the player getting involved around the community. Let the beer thing go and let some good old time hockey come into your community. ITS A GOOD THING!

edgepro from up north

Seriously janesvilliean..do you really believe that that number of liquor licenses in Janesville has a real affect on the OWI problem in Wisconsin?

You should take the time to visit Beloit during the many public events when alcohol is served...such as "Music at Harry's Place and the annual street dance" to name two.

There has never been a problem in the many years I have been attending...Janesville just doesn't get it.

Drink beer and watch sports no problem. Drink beer watch sports, get behind the wheel and drive on our streets BIG PROBLEM. The City would be promoting drunk driving, now where does the city stand? for or against drunk driving? If an accident were to happen due to alcohol where would the liability fall? on the city? It is a Public building and if they approve the selling of Beer/wine can they issue DUI's without entrapment becoming an issue?

I dont think that beer is needed at Youth hockey games.. Cant people get through a sporting event without a beer? Seems ridiculous.

Beer sells at the Junior Hockey games will bring in added money into the city, just think what that means. I enjoy a beer now while watching a sporting event.

a hockey game is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours long at most they are only serving beer the first 2 periods of the game. There will also be a certain area where the beer is sold unlike other sporting events where they sell it all over and are free to roam around with it.

Why does there always have to be alochol at sporting events? Can we not just go to these games and places and just drink pop, coffee, water, juice, slushies and enjoy the game, I dont think I have ever been to a ballpark and not ran into somebody who has had to much to drink and made me feel uncomfortable, you want to go up to these people and just put them in there place. I dont mind a person having a drink but when it interferes with my family and my good time then they have crossed the line.

Beer!
Beer!
Beer makes the ice nice.
Beer!
Beer!
Beer makes the ice nice.

Lost_city - So you're classifying everyone that has a beer as a drunk. Or that anyone that MAY have a beer at a hockey game is a drunk and they're going to drive home drunk and kill their family. Do you or anyone else go to restaurants with children? Or do you see children there with parents? Alcohol is served at restaurants, etc. Does that mean everyone there is driving home drunk or even drinking for that matter? I didn't think so. Some of you are seriously taking this to the extreme.

For me this is a borderline case. I think the hockey team is a net positive proposal, and I don't mind alcohol being sold at sporting events, but I would prefer a restricted area. I don't see why that's impossible to fold into the renovation plan, but it would cost some money.
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On the other hand I do have great concerns about the OWI problem in Wisconsin, and I believe a primary factor is the high number of liquor licenses. Janesville, last time this came up, seemed to be close to the average for peer cities, so it isn't a particular problem here in that sense. But we should carefully consider the implications of expanding liquor sales.

Give me the clue, Sherlock.

Superdave.....you just need to get a clue.

Last time I checked, Janesville wasn't in the bible belt. What is the issue with selling beer at a sporting event?

tom1cass2 - You nailed that one on the head.

If the success of junior league hockey in Janesville relies on the sale of alcohol at games, I would vote 'no'. Given the increasing number of DUI's in Janesville and the surrounding area, any move by the city to encourage alcohol consumption is a horrible idea, especially since people have to drive to get there. If this is allowed, all proceeds should go toward the capital improvements of the facility. Otherwise, junior league hockey should find some other community to host it. Janesville has survived this long without a junior hockey team, and I think we'll continue to survive without one.

I have lived in Janesville my whole life but I have traveled alot and I have never seen such a prude city as Janesville.

frog88: What is your point exactly? Other towns do it so we should too? Sorry, but that makes no sense.

For those of you that do not visit ice arena's there are several that sell beer during games.
Stoughton, Nagawaukee,& Eble Park just to mention a few that sell during games. Oh and not to mention our very own rink during a Junior hockey game last season we sold beer in a designated area as well. This is not such a unknown thing to do. Also would everyone stop calling this YOUTH hockey!!!! As to selling beer around children I go into bars and see kids, I go to brewer games and see kids, I go to snapper games and see kids, I go to bowling alley's and see kids I go to Chuckie Cheese and they serve beer where kids are everywhere. There will be a place that the beer will be sold and the kids will not be allowed.

If there is no good reason not to sell beer at a jr. hockey game. Then what is the good reason to sell beer around children? If they let this happen here, then let taverns allow drunks to bring their kids, then when they drive home drunk they can kill the whole family. A family that drinks together, dies together.

Oh gee, let me guess... Should we allow alcohol sales at JUNIOR hockey games? Hmmm... Well, only if we can get schnockered at high school sporting events also. I mean if we really want to set a good example, let's do it right! When this subject came up before, it was an issue of beer sales. Now it has moved up to alcohol sales. I can see it now- "OK, so we'll vote against alcohol sales- after all, that wouldn't be morally correct. We'll just sell beer instead." [Slapping forehead AND sticking finger down throat.] Makes me sick. I'm getting a busload together to go vote tonight.

janesvillecomments: you are right on! The White Elephant lives, now the city has to conveniently exempt itself from its own rules to help pay for the darn thing. Long live the Government Ice Arena!

I’m bracing for the usual flood of comments decrying another venue for alcohol, and insisting this will worsen our already out-of-hand drunk driving problem. The “logic” goes like this: if we have two liquor stores in town, and then allow a third to open, the incidence of drunk driving will increase 50%!! Sorry guys, but that math just doesn’t work.
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Beer sales are common if not universal at commercial sporting events. There is no good reason not to allow them at Janesville Junior A hockey. It will not increase the number of drunk drivers, it simply shifts their starting point from a home or tavern to the ice arena. The solution is no to decrease the number of liquor outlets, but to increase the penalty for driving drunk.

If they are going to allow beer to be sold at youth hockey games, they should stop the hypocrisy of limiting licenses "for the good of the community" and allow as many restaurants and pubs to obtain licenses as wish to.
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Private enterprises should not be restricted from selling alcohol on the one hand while government-supported boondoggles are given free reign to sell alcohol in such an underage-attracting venue.
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Time to go vote today, to REPLACE those who approved the hockey deal.