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Los Angeles

Rose Bowl could benefit from Big Ten’s traveling fans

Debt-strapped stadium sees opportunity in UCLA’s league switch

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo with the Rose Bowl stadium (City of Pasadena, Google Maps)
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo with the Rose Bowl stadium (City of Pasadena, Google Maps)

The move by UCLA to join the Big Ten Conference could be a touchdown for the indebted Rose Bowl stadium.

Stadium stewards, university leaders and Pasadena city officials say the move could inject new life into the city-owned stadium, the Pasadena Star-News reported.

They think the stadium’s nearly 93,000 seats could be filled by passionate fans from states such as Ohio, Nebraska and Michigan on game-day Saturdays. The move by UCLA and USC to exit the Pac-12 to the Big Ten won’t happen until the 2024-2025 season.

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Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said flexibility will be key, since no one’s sure what the future holds. He said the time, date and location of the popular Rose Bowl game and Tournament of Roses parade will not be changed.
UCLA and the Tournament of Roses just signed 30-year agreements to help the venue maintain relevance within a growing marketplace of venues across Southern California. The deal came as the Rose Bowl is having trouble paying the bills after nearly $200 million in stadium renovations, according to financial records.
The pandemic has exacerbated the problem, according to a report from CAA ICON, a consulting firm hired by Rose Bowl Operating Company, which manages the stadium.
The consultancy said the operating company and the city’s debt obligation “is the greatest weight” on Pasadena’s future financial projections. To address the debt, the city made $11.5 million in debt service payments and the operating company plans to pay another $12.3 million this year, according to the newspaper.
Bond debt service expenses are expected to increase by $300,000 to $400,000 a year until 2032, which has prompted worry about pressure on the city’s budget reserves.
But Gordo and others in the city believe everybody in the local area will benefit once fans from prestigious Big Ten powerhouses follow their teams to Pasadena.
“This gives the Tournament of Roses and the university the flexibility to ensure the best teams are coming into the stadium in the regular season and on New Year’s Day,” Gordo said, imagining fans flooding local hotels, restaurants and retailers.
“Remember, these are people who are passionate, so they travel well, as we’ve seen during the Rose Bowl Game. So you add that to the regular season and I think it’ll be a success.”

— Dana Bartholomew

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Commercial Real EstatePasadenaStadiumUCLA