The Daily Cardinal
By Jack Zeller
A $4.2 million sports bar will move in downtown under the new Lucky apartment complex next fall, after the Alcohol License Review Committee voted unanimously to approve the establishment's application for a Class B liquor license Wednesday.
The Field Pass restaurant will be located underneath the new Steve Brown apartment complex, Lucky, on the corner of Lake and Johnson Streets. It will have two floors and a capacity of 550 persons, complete with restaurant style seating, pool tables, dart boards, television sets, live music and a large variety of appetizers and entrees.
Field Pass is the second business venture spearheaded in Madison by the Brink family, in addition to the Brink Lounge on East Washington Avenue.
General Manager Matt Brink said he plans to market the restaurant as an alternative to the student-dominated bar scene downtown.
Brink hopes that by serving food during all hours of operation and featuring live local, regional and national music acts in the later hours of the evening, Field Pass will be able to provide a comfortable late-night atmosphere for all age groups.
What we want to do is be as attractive to as many different people and age groups as possible,"" Brink said. ""In terms of the late night scene, we really envision people of all ages coming in there.""
The restaurant's intentions of operating until bar time was cause for some concern among ALRC and community members, who worried that Field Pass would evolve into another downtown bar and violate Madison's newly passed Alcohol Density Plan.
The Alcohol Density Plan, which passed in September, stipulates that no liquor licenses will be granted to new establishments in the downtown area who intend to derive more than 50 percent of their profit from alcohol sales.
The current business plan for Field Pass exempts it from the Density Plan, as owners estimate a profit ratio of 60 percent food and 40 percent alcohol sales.
Madison City Council President Mike Verveer said he is confident Field Pass owners will operate their business within the parameters of the Density Plan.
""This establishment will be under the scrutiny of a lot of people,"" Verveer said. ""I believe that this applicant will do everything in their power to live up to their commitment and their promise.""
Ald. Eli Judge, District 8, said he is excited about the restaurant and the diversity of entertainment it will bring to the downtown area.
""It's going to be a great addition to the University Square project,"" he said. ""I think the fact that we're going to be having a sports bar, especially right down the street from the Kohl Center, is really going to add something to the area.""
Field Pass' liquor license must now be approved at the City Council meeting Dec. 4.
