A bill giving the University of Minnesota control over who gets to buy liquor in its sports facilities unanimously passed through an important Senate committee Tuesday. The bill is meant to ease the UniversityâÄôs budget troubles, further exacerbated by a $36 million cut from the Legislature on Monday, Senate Higher Education Committee Chairwoman Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, said. âÄúIn these times when we are cutting [the] University of MinnesotaâÄôs budget by $36 million, it behooves us not to take away other revenue streams,âÄù Pappas said. Under the existing law, alcohol can only be sold on an all-or-nothing basis at TCF Bank Stadium and Williams and Mariucci arenas, a departure from the previous practice of selling or serving it exclusively in premium seating areas. The University estimates it faces a yearly loss ranging from $1 million to $2 million in terms of premium seating. Losses related to actual alcohol sales only add up to about $200,000 yearly. The University said it will not take an official stance on the issue. If approved, the money made from alcohol sales would go toward an athletics scholarship fund. The bill now moves to the Senate Finance Committee. Since there is no companion bill in the House of Representatives, Pappas said she would insert the provision into a higher education policy bill. That bill must be approved by the House Higher Education Committee, which is headed by Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, who originally proposed the all-or-nothing restriction.