With the rising cost of gas driving up cab fare and drink prices following suit at popular downtown bars, a night out in Binghamton is becoming a more pricey endeavour for Binghamton University students.
The Sport Bar, one of the most popular bars on State Street, raised its cover charge at the beginning of the semester from $2 to $3 on Friday and Saturday nights and drink prices have also gone up, putting a strain on the wallets of the many students who go there every weekend. At the beginning of the semester mixed drink prices went up to $6.25 from $5.75 and shots went up to $4. Beer bottles are still $3.75 and drafts start at $3.
“We were just trying to make a little more money,” said Chris McClane, owner of The Sports Bar. “Every bar has to raise prices to make it a little more profitable.”
McClane said that although the cost of liquor does go up occasionally, it doesn’t usually happen for all brands at the same time, requiring a change in prices across the board.
But even though The Sports Bar remains the most expensive establishment downtown, there are still ways to drink there — on certain nights — without breaking the bank.
Tuesday night at The Sports Bar is “Irish Night,” with $2 shots of Irish whiskey and $2 glasses of Guinness. Wednesday nights feature 2-for-1 specials on drinks as well as live entertainment. Thursday nights are the “World Championship of Beer Pong” with $2 Miller Lights and $2 shots of Southern Comfort.
There are especially good deals to be found at downtown bars for those ambitious party-goers who choose to go out midweek. Drink specials on those less-established “going-out nights” are drawing crowds of students to State Street and other popular locations on weeknights.
One of the more popular phenomenons taking off downtown is Tuesday-night trivia competitions where teams can sign up to compete for prizes and money, giving those who go out on weeknights the opportunity to actually make money downtown in addition to spending it.
Flashbacks/Boca Joe’s has added a Team Trivia night on Tuesdays, featuring $2 choose-your-own shots and $5 pitchers. Uncle Tony’s is also well-established for its Tuesday night trivia contests, in which teams can sign up and compete for cash prizes and gift certificates, including $75 for the first-placed team. Tom and Marty’s is also cashing in on the game night action, hosting an event it calls “The Official World Championship of Connect Four,” awarding a $30 cash prize to the winner.
To round out the downtown competitions, Boca Joe’s also has a $1,000 hot-body contest on Thursday nights, with 50-cent mugs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
But on weekends, students will still have to shell out for the upped cover charges and pay higher drink prices, an unfortunate truth of the BU party scene.
Bars less known to BU students, like The Belmar on Main Street, are good places to go any night of the week for cheaper beers and liquors, with pints of Coors for $1.50 every night of the week, mixed drinks starting at $2 and bottled beers starting at $2.25.
Although there are no specific drink specials, Belmar owner Ed Hickey said their regular prices are enough to draw crowds.
“You can’t get much cheaper than $1.50 Coors,” he said.