Alcohol sales at the new Ryan Field will end after the third quarter of football games under an ordinance the Evanston City Council advanced Tuesday, Sept. 15, in a 7-0-1 vote.

The change, first reported by Evanston Now, resolves a practical problem with the stadium's N-3 liquor license. The council created that license class specifically for Ryan Field and granted it to caterer Levy Restaurants in July. The original license required vendors to stop selling alcohol 30 minutes before any event ended. Football games don't have predictable ending times, making a 30-minute cutoff impossible to enforce.

Ald. Parielle Davis, 7th Ward, initially pushed for a one-hour cutoff after raising concerns about the original 30-minute rule. The Evanston Liquor Control Review Board took up the question earlier Tuesday and heard arguments on both sides.

Laurie McFarlane, a board member of the Most Livable City Association, argued sales should stop at halftime. Northwestern liaison Dave Davis and attorneys for the university and Levy pushed back against a shorter window.

After roughly 40 minutes of discussion, the board recommended a third-quarter cutoff for football. That matches the rule already in place at Northwestern's temporary Martin Stadium and at most Big Ten stadiums, according to the Evanston Roundtable. The 30-minute cutoff remains for non-football events, including concerts scheduled to begin next year.

Ald. Davis ultimately voted to introduce the ordinance with the third-quarter cutoff rather than the one-hour version she had originally sought. The council made no further changes before passing the measure for introduction.

Ald. Juan Geracaris, 9th Ward, abstained because he is a Northwestern employee. He abstains on all Northwestern-related votes.

The ordinance needs one more vote to take effect. That final vote is scheduled for Sept. 28, four days before Northwestern opens the new Ryan Field against Penn State on Friday, Oct. 2. The Wildcats have played home games at the temporary lakefront Martin Stadium for the past two seasons.

Because the council already approved the underlying liquor license this summer, Northwestern can obtain its state license and purchase alcohol ahead of the opener. Tuesday's amendment only changes the cutoff vendors must follow.