OAR 845-006-0434: Minibars in Arena Suites

(1) ORS 471.180 allows a Limited On-Premises or Full On-Premises Sales licensee who operates suites in an arena to store alcoholic beverages in a minibar and to make those beverages available to guests of arena suites. The purpose of this rule is to regulate the use of minibars in arena suites. The Commission reserves the right to add restrictions regarding the service of alcohol from minibars to the license of any arena licensee when those restrictions are considered by the Commission to be a reasonable response to a potential public safety problem or concern. (2) Definitions: (a) "Adults": Persons 21 years of age or older; (b) "Arena suite": An enclosed, leased, private suite which is separate from the general admission area in an arena. The Commission considers an arena suite as a part of the arena; (c) "Containers": For purposes of this rule, an individual container of each alcoholic beverage listed below must contain no more than the following amount of alcohol: (A) Distilled spirits: 1.7 ounces or 50 milliliters; (B) Bottles or cans of malt beverage: 12 ounces or approximately 355 milliliters; (C) Malt beverage in kegs: 8 liters; (D) Wine or cider: 25.4 ounces or 750 milliliters; (d) "Licensee": For purposes of this rule, licensee refers to an arena which has been issued a Limited On-Premises or Full On-Premises Sales license under the provisions of ORS Chapter 471; (e) "Minibar": A locked cabinet or locked refrigerator used to store alcoholic beverages; (f) "Monitoring": An observation of suite guests for a reasonable amount of time by a service permittee who must serve food, alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, or perform related duties in the suite during the period of monitoring to provide an opportunity for the permittee to observe whether minors are consuming alcohol, whether guests show any signs of visible intoxication and whether any unlawful acts are occurring; (g) "Service Permittee:" An individual who has a valid service permit or a valid temporary service permit; (h) "Suite Holder": A person or entity that has entered an agreement to occupy an arena suite. Where such suite holder is a business or a corporation, that suite holder will designate at least one adult as the suite holder's representative for each event. (3) Operational Rules for Arena Suites: The licensee may provide alcoholic beverages only under the following conditions in arena suites: (a) Maximum Containers Allowed Per Suite: (A) Each suite must be stocked with no more than: (i) One 8 liter keg of malt beverage and 60 additional containers of a variety of alcoholic beverages; or (ii) Eighty (80) containers of a variety of alcoholic beverages; no keg of malt beverage is permitted. (B) Only one 8 liter keg of malt beverage may be present in a suite at any one time. Alcoholic beverages which are brought into the suite from other areas in the arena for immediate consumption by suite guests will not be counted in the maximum number of containers of alcohol allowed in the arena suite. (b) Responsibilities of Suite Holder and Suite Guests: (A) When the suite holder will not be present for an event, the suite holder must designate one adult as the suite holder's representative for that event. The suite holder or suite holder's representative must be present in the suite throughout each event; (B) For purposes of OAR 845-006-0362 and 845-006-0345, the suite holder or suite holder's representative and suite guests are deemed to be the licensee's agents or representatives. The Commission holds the suite holder, the suite holder's representative and suite guests to the same standard of care in serving alcohol as the licensee. (c) Responsibilities of the Licensee: (A) A service permittee must monitor each suite for alcohol-related problems a minimum of four times each hour while the suite is occupied. However, the Commission may enter an agreement with a licensee to defer enforcement of this provision and to require less frequent monitoring when the Commission has reason to believe that less frequent monitoring will be adequate to insure that alcohol-related problems will not occur. The Commission will reserve the right to revoke the agreement and to require compliance with this subsection of the rule if the Commission has reason to believe more frequent monitoring is necessary to prevent alcohol-related problems; (B) No alcohol may be consumed in an arena suite from one hour after an arena event has ended until 7:00 a.m. Notwithstanding this portion of the rule, if the arena suite is used for a private party when no arena event is occurring, no alcohol may be consumed in the arena suite from 12:00 midnight until 7:00 a.m. Under no circumstances may alcohol be served or consumed between 2:30 and 7:00 a.m. (C) If a service permittee observes a minor or visibly intoxicated person being served or consuming alcoholic beverages, the service permittee must: (i) Remove the alcohol from the minor or visibly intoxicated person; (ii) Lock the minibar; (iii) Notify the licensee about the minor or visibly intoxicated person who was consuming alcohol; (iv) Call arena security to carry out the arena's operational plan with regard to minors or visibly intoxicated persons; and (v) Serve all alcohol in the suite during the remainder of the event. After locking the minibar, a service permittee may either remain in the suite to serve alcohol throughout the remainder of the event or a permittee may serve alcohol to suite guests when monitoring the suite. (D) If a minor has consumed alcohol in an arena suite, the minor must be removed from the arena suite. (d) Keys to a Minibar: Only the licensee or a service permittee may unlock a minibar. The licensee or a service permittee must unlock a minibar only for a suite holder or suite holder's representative. (e) Restocking a Minibar: (A) Any employee who is at least 18 years old may restock a minibar when there are no suite guests present and no event is occurring; (B) Only a service permittee may restock a minibar during an event or when guests are present in the suite; (C) Before restocking a minibar during an event or when guests are present in the suite, the service permittee must observe the guests to insure that there are no visibly intoxicated persons or minors consuming alcohol in the suite. A service permittee must not restock after 10 p.m. (f) Posted Signs: Each minibar must have a clearly visible sign on the outside or inside of the minibar. The sign must explain the following liquor laws and rules: minors and visibly intoxicated persons must not drink alcohol; the suite holder, suite holder's representative and suite guests must remove the alcohol from any visibly intoxicated person; and no alcohol may be consumed in the suite from one hour after an event in the arena has ended until 7:00 a.m., or if no event is occurring in the arena, between 12 midnight and 7:00 a.m. (g) Food in Arena Suites: At a minimum, each suite must contain a variety of snacks for guests to eat during the hours the minibar is unlocked. (4) Records: (a) The licensee must keep records of all sales of alcohol and food for each suite during the license term and must maintain the records for a period of at least two years; (b) The licensee must make available for inspection by Commission staff on an annual basis the average total food and total alcohol sales for all arena suites. (5) Violations: Violation of the provisions of paragraph (3)(c)(C) (response to minor or visibly intoxicated person consuming) and subsection (3)(e) (restocking minibar) of this rule are Category III violations in the Commission's sanction schedule. All other violations of sections (3) and (4) of this rule are Category IV violations under the Commission's sanction schedule: (a) The licensee is responsible for knowing when minors and visibly intoxicated persons are present in arena suites and for taking reasonable steps to insure that they do not consume alcohol. If a minor or visibly intoxicated person consumes alcohol in an arena suite, the licensee is responsible for permitting the minor or visibly intoxicated person to consume alcohol in violation of liquor laws; (b) Adherence to the provisions of this rule is not a defense to a charge of violating liquor laws. If the Commission determines that minibar use causes or creates liquor law violations or a public safety problem, the Commission reserves the right to require the licensee to use service permittees to serve all alcohol in arena suites.