Underage university students are one step closer to legal admittance to Madison bars providing live entertainment as a result of the Visual and Performing Arts Ordinance approved by the Alcohol License Review Committee Wednesday. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance, which would allow all people under the age of 21 to enter bars, provided the bar holds a permit and is offering live performances.
The ordinance has yet to be approved by the City Council, which will vote on it in May. If passed, bar owners will have the option to apply for the license, which they can then put into effect when hosting a musical performer or show.
\It will open up a whole new world of possibilities for thousands and thousands of underagers,"" Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. ""Eighteen- to 21-year-olds are currently shut out of much of the live-music scene in Madison because so much of the live music occurs in bars.""
Ald. Austin King, District 8, also emphasized that the option to see live music would detract from illegal activities that underage students frequently resort to, like drinking at parties and using forms of false identification.
""Underagers get fake IDs just to get into these [bars],"" King said. ""This would ... keep them in a safe, regulated environment, they could have fun, and they wouldn't just be at some house party.""
According to the license, bar patrons of legal drinking age would be wrist-banded, hand-stamped and carded before any liquor could be sold to them at bars allowing all-age attendance. Underage concert-goers would be charged a mandatory admission into the bar, ostensibly to compensate for the lack of alcohol sales.
In addition to passing the ordinance, the ALRC also approved the renovation of Church Key Liquor, 626 University Ave. The construction would include expanding the existing second-story bar to include part of the first floor, building a handicap-accessible entrance to the building and adding sprinklers and fire exits. The committee's consent came after considerable argument, especially over the bar's capacity, which will increase from 86 to 190 people. Concerns arose over the additional strain this will put on the density of people on University Avenue at bar time.
