BYOB- Success or Not?

A controversial new club night appears to have been a great success, according to the club manager. For those who did not read Durham One’s report on Academy’s new ‘Bring Your Own Booze’ night, Academy had recently decided upon a new initiative; allowing revellers to bring their own alcohol into the club.

The move appeared to have two principal reasons at its heart. Firstly, it has been seen as a move to prevent disorder occurring at night, often caused by rowdy students and locals who have consumed far too much alcohol as a result of drinking heavily on the pre-lash and at the club. By bringing pre-night drinks to the club instead, it was thought that less alcohol overall will be consumed, meaning less public order disturbances after closing time.

The second and more economic realisation was that Academy management had come to the realisation that they cannot compete with supermarkets, which are able to sell pints for 25p less than Academy can buy it. Club manager Bob Senior explains;

‘It’s not something I would like to do but the reality is that I have to do it. I would rather be charging full price for drinks, but supermarkets are selling drinks cheaper than I can buy them.’

Despite the idea being treated with scepticism in some quarters, Senior is adamant that the novel club night was a success;

‘Around 100 people showed up. It went reasonably well and there was a lot of interest in it for this week- and it is definitely worth doing it again in the future.’

The general reaction to the night appeared to be one of approval, with students echoing Senior’s sentiment over economics; that you can go to a club and pay £3 for one vodka, or get a bottle from Tesco for less than a tenner. Similarly, there was a general relief that you can finally do in clubs what some restaurants have been doing for years.

However, Academy’s night still has its detractors. Claire Sullivan, of Safe Durham’s Alcohol Harm Reduction Group, warned that the night would not cause more, not less disorder, as revellers are able to purchase vast quantities of beer and spirits for much less than usual. Sullivan also warned that imbibing such amounts would have a negative impact on health, as well as lead to an increase in domestic and sexual violence.

Despite criticism from Alcohol Charities, Senior has plans to make the ‘BYOB’ night into a weekly event, taking place on a weekday.