Edinburgh licensees reject plans for drinks at Murrayfield Stadium

Edinburgh licensees have give the thumbs-down to plans for bars at the city's Murrayfield Stadium.

As the only international rugby venue in the world which cannot sell alcohol, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) has applied to ease the ban on bars within the stadium to help attract major sporting events.

The stadium has just lost out to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in rival bids to host the Powergen Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at next year.

However, Paul Waterson, of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said licensees in Edinburgh would be against a move to allow drinking at the stadium. "Edinburgh already has more on-licences than anywhere else in Scotland," he said. "Our members certainly wouldn't agree that another major licensed venue was needed."

Mr Waterson compared the Murrayfield situation to Glasgow, where local licensees successfully opposed a plan to allow Celtic and Rangers to reintroduce licensed bars.

Murrayfield voluntarily opted into legislation banning the sale of alcohol at Scottish sporting grounds, which was primarily aimed at preventing drink-related trouble at football grounds. As a result, the rugby club believes it has a stronger case for a relaxation of the ban than the two Glasgow soccer clubs.

Mr Waterson said: "I've attended special functions at Murrayfield where alcohol was served, so it clearly has no problem getting an occasional licence. I can't see that anything more is needed."