WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, SportsLSU Looks At Different Revenue Mechanisms--Microbrewery?

LSU Looks At Different Revenue Mechanisms--Microbrewery?

By Jerit Roser | LSU Student

A microbrewery at the Lod Cook Hotel could be among the ways LSU tries to make money in the future.

LSU Chancellor Michael Martin already has students of the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute at the E.J. Ourso College of Business working a feasibility analysis, he said.

"They haven't given me a report yet, but they seem to be pretty enthusiastic," Martin said. "Maybe they just like beer, but they seem to be pretty enthusiastic."

Martin said visitors have complained there's no place to eat at the hotel, and a microbrewery and pub could both fix that problem and give food science and chemical engineering students an opportunity to learn through practical application.

"My philosophy is to use your students and faculty as much as you can to make what we need at the University also educational," he said.

The specific idea for a microbrewery stemmed from Martin's time at Oregon State University and a desire for a business different from others near campus, Martin said.

"Let's put in something that'll make it a little special relative to what you can get around here," he said. "Portland, [Ore.], has probably got 20 microbrewery pubs — a bunch any how — but we don't have any around here."

Martin also referenced California universities, including the University of California at Davis and California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, which have their own wineries.

A microbrewery would give the University the opportunity to "create another identity for its brand," Martin said, adding that different beers could be brewed and named things like Tiger Lager or Mike Stout.

Martin said Mockler Beverage Co., an Anheuser Busch wholesale distributor in Baton Rouge, has said it may be interested in a partnership, and the students of the Stephenson Institute are currently trying to determine the best way to run the microbrewery if it is in fact feasible.

"How would we do it, how would we market it, what would be the business arrangement we would want — do we want it to be privately owned but the University have a license relationship, do we want the University to own it, do we want the Alumni Association which owns the hotel to own it, do we want the LSU Foundation to own it?" Martin said. "And how do we get it build if we decide to do it? How do we get a partner that wants to put up the cash that wants to be part of this exercise?"

Lod Cook already houses a small bar, and Martin said the possible criticism of the University housing a microbrewery is both expected and not a large concern.

"Cal Davis seems to have outlived the criticism of a winery," he said. "It's a legitimate business, and we won't serve to underage kids. And they're already serving there — It isn't as though we're introducing something new.

"People always want to say that that's somehow encouraging. The fact that we have streets doesn't encourage speeding — people behave right. If we serve beer, it isn't to encourage anything other than people who can responsibly consume beer should be able to do it, and we should be able to put a label on it that gives this place some cachet."

Martin also has Stephenson Institute students analyzing the possibility of a public-private partnership to redevelop the housing on Nicholson Drive, potentially building the housing higher and adding some retail space and even a new recreation center.

The University's development team is also trying to raise money by placing donors' names on buildings and streets, Martin said.

"I've approached a donor about a $20 million gift to name the Honors College," he said. "I believe that's about right for the Honors College. I believe that putting a name on the College of Engineering should be at least $30 million."

Martin referenced the College of Art and Design, the softball stadium, the soccer field, the Natatorium, Nicholson Extension, Fieldhouse Drive and South Stadium as possible candidates for name changes.

"Why do you have to have a Nicholson Extension when you already have a Nicholson Drive — I don't think the Nicholson family cares if they have an extension," he said. "The street over there is called Fieldhouse Drive. What the heck does that mean — unless we find a donor named Fieldhouse?"

The goal is to raise enough money to build an endowment of about $1 billion, from which the University could draw interest each year to lessen its dependence on the state, Martin said.

"In the long run — and the long run is going to be several years — we have to begin to find a way to diversity our funding," he said. "Fifty-two percent of our unrestricted budget comes from the state. That's much higher than most of our sister institutions."

Martin said he'll continue to brainstorm ideas of new ways to raise money — even though some of the ideas might not work — and he encourages others at the University to do the same.

"Having ideas is a little like fishing in the ocean — you net as many fish as you can and you get them on deck and throw back the ones you ones you don't want," he said. "We've got to start breaking out of the mold of 'What we've always done works.' It worked — in the past tense. It no longer works now."