An undercover operation conducted as part of research sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Substance Abuse Prevention and Research Program (SAPRP) found that apparently underage and intoxicated fans have a relatively easy time purchasing alcohol at professional sports events.

Using hired adults who appeared underage or showed signs of being intoxicated, the researchers found that it was easiest for these individuals to buy alcohol in the seating areas at professional sports venues, as opposed to at concession areas. This appeared to be the result of servers in the stands having a greater distance between themselves and buyers and not noticing customers' signs of possibly being intoxicated or underage.

Traci Toomey, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and colleagues found that the overall sales rate to the apparently impaired fans was 74 percent, while the overall sales rate to the apparently underage fans was 18 percent.

"We know already that there's a link between alcohol use and problem behaviors among fans," Toomey said. "But there's more that sports stadiums can do to prevent sales to people who are clearly drunk."

The pseudo-underage purchases in the study were conducted by two adult men and five women judged by a panel to appear 18 to 20 years old. The-pseudo-intoxicated buyers were chosen for their convincing ability to appear intoxicated by slurring their speech and dropping their money, in addition to other behaviors. The operations were conducted at 16 baseball, football, basketball and hockey venues in five states.

Toomey recommended that stadium operators and elected officials consider banning alcohol sales from taking place in the seating areas at these locations, or at least training the mobile vendors in detecting problems that should lead them to reject a purchase.

Results of the study were published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.