Disagreement, confusion over expo liquor license

Differing legal interpretations of state law regarding local alcohol sales has caused confusion among local officials and managers of a 5,000-seat convention center set to open in Corbin early next month

Addressing the issue head-on Tuesday, Cliff Clinger, General Manager of The Arena at the David L. Williams Agriculture and Exposition Center, said speculation over the fate of a license to sell alcohol at the facility has been rampant, but is premature.

“There’s been a great deal of discussion … about the alcohol issue,” Clinger said. “I just want to let everyone know that is an issue that is still being worked on. That’s really all we can say at this point in time. We can speculate and forecast and put words in people’s mouths, but right now we are in the process of putting the application in. Our application isn’t even on their desk yet, so to hypothesis or to think that we will or won’t be able to serve alcohol is a little bit premature.”

Clinger’s words came on the heels of a report that an attorney for the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said a license for Corbin’s convention center would likely be denied because voters in the city have not yet repealed Prohibition through what is commonly called a “wet/dry” vote. In 2003, through a referendum, a majority of Corbin voters approved a more restrictive measure that would allow restaurant that have at least 70 percent of their gross receipts come from the sale of food, and who can seat over 100 patrons, to sell alcohol by the drink.

La Tasha Buckner, General Counsel for Kentucky ABC, reiterated that position and said without holding a “local option election” to totally repeal Prohibition, a convention center like Corbin’s cannot sell alcohol.

“That’s the way I interpret the law,” Buckner said. “I do not review license applications and I’m certainly not saying a license won’t be issued … but in my reading of the law, it would be denied.”

That opinion doesn’t square with what current and former Corbin City officials say they’ve been told all along regarding state laws regarding alcohol sales at the expo center.

Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon points to KRS 243.050 which seems to offer an exemption to normal rules regarding alcohol sales to places like airports, horse and auto race tracks, historic sites and convention centers if it is determined that it is “in the best interest of promoting tourism, conventions, and the economic development of Kentucky …”

“We had a woman from the ABC come talk to us back in 2003 when we first passed the alcohol sales in Corbin and she told us we could sell at a convention center,” Cannon said. “She said you don’t even have to have a referendum for this to be applicable. We always operated under the assumption we could do it.”

Former Corbin Mayor Amos Miller, who was Mayor Pro Tem on the city’s Board of Commissioners in 2003, agreed with Cannon and said he was told places like convention centers were exempt.

“I always thought it was the opposite of what they are saying now,” Miller said. “I remember them coming down and explaining all this to us. I thought they [the expo center] could get one.”

Current Mayor Willard McBurney said the company that manages The Arena, SMG Worldwide Entertainment and Convention Venue Management, is handling the liquor license application, but added that the way he reads the law, an exemption exists.

Clinger said Tuesday that while The Arena likely won’t be able to sell alcohol when it first opens the doors March 12, he hopes it will be able to soon after. He said an application to the ABC has been held up because one additional business license for the center must still be obtained.

“This is a true sports arena. This is a true convention center that does fall into some different rules and regulations,” he said. “We can’t say yes or no right now. We are in the middle of the process.”

The company’s legal team in Philadelphia is currently working on the issue. Clinger said if denied, the company would almost certainly appeal the decision.

The three-member Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which currently has one vacancy, will ultimately decide if a license is issued. Danny Reed, the Distilled Spirits Administrator, and Angela Donahue, Malt Beverage Administrator, serve on the board. If denied, the application for a license can be appealed to Franklin Circuit Court.

Buckner said her interpretation of the law has never been tested in court.

The Arena would only sell alcohol during events where it is appropriate, Clinger said, like country music concerts or monster truck events or tractor pulls.