Sunday, February 2, 2014

The Sunday Alcohol Sale Prohibition in Indiana

Indiana law still prohibits the sale of alcohol on Sundays, with a few exceptions.  I do not know what the Indiana General Assembly's excuse is supposed to be for its failure to change that, but regardless of what that excuse is supposed to be, the General Assembly evidently did decide (at some point) that the excuse is not so compelling that it could be allowed to interfere with the Indianapolis 500 or the festivities connected with it.  Indiana law includes several exceptions to the Sunday alcohol sale prohibition, and one of these (as seen below) appears to have been designed specifically to accommodate the Indy 500 and other races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

From the Indiana Code, IC 7.1-3-1-14:


(c) It is lawful for the holder of a permit under this article to sell alcoholic beverages at athletic or sports events held on Sunday upon premises that:
(1) are described in section 25 (a) of this chapter;
(2) are a facility used in connection with the operation of a paved track more than two (2) miles in length that is used primarily in the sport of auto racing; or 
(3) are being used for a professional or an amateur tournament;
beginning one (1) hour before the scheduled starting time of the event or, if the scheduled starting time of the event is 1 p.m. or later, beginning at noon.