It doesn’t get better than free beer and live college football. And for attendees of an American football match in Ireland, that dream combination became a reality last weekend.
On Saturday night, at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium during the season’s kickoff game, an internet error rendered all concessions at the 51,700-seat stadium free of charge — a glitch that concession employees decided to honor, according to USA Today.
The outage occurred sometime between the first and second touchdowns, continuing well throughout the game. As fans clamored for free drinks, Yahoo’s senior NFL reporter Charles Robinson tweeted that the stadium’s concourse had “basically turned into a theme park ride.”
Boots on the ground, reporting the free beer situation in Ireland. It has basically turned into a theme park ride. Thank you for your service, @ndblair. pic.twitter.com/mnnUmLpaJu
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) August 27, 2022
As expected, the lines for free beer, cocktails, and snacks were extremely long.
The outage was caused by issues with the payment platform Sumup, according to a statement from Aviva Stadium’s catering partner Levy UK + Ireland. The outage extended beyond the Dublin stadium; retailers across the provider’s external network system experienced similar disruptions.
“Our team at Aviva Stadium were extremely quick to ensure that the fan experience was upheld and food and beverage kiosks were kept open serving customers for the entirety of this period,” a Levy spokesperson states in a press release. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this caused customers and would like to thank our employees at Aviva Stadium for the spirit they showed in keeping everything going.”
Regular service resumed by 7:30 p.m., the release states. That didn’t stop crowds from posting their experience — and videos of the extremely long queues — on social media.
The queue for alcohol at Aviva Stadium right now because everything is free due to the internet being down. pic.twitter.com/JWS4IxyfxR
— Amie Just (@Amie_Just) August 27, 2022
If you want to wait in this pic.twitter.com/9VILzSZDMz
— Paul Gornowski (@PGornowski) August 27, 2022
Our guy @ndblair reports that they’ve run out of beer in Ireland. This feels like the part where it gets worse. pic.twitter.com/ewHZa3eOMQ
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) August 27, 2022
Aviva Stadium didn’t share the dollar amount of Saturday’s bar tab, but from the looks of it, fans certainly racked up a steep bill.
