ROSE BOWL
1001 Rose Bowl Drive
Pasadena, California 91103
Telephone: (626) 577-3100
Football Stadium (opened 1922)
Seats 92,542
About The Rose Bowl
When attendance in temporary grandstands for the Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day surpassed 25,000, Tournament of Roses officials knew they had to create a larger site for the event. The result was a 57,000-seat, horseshoe- shaped stadium financed by seating subscriptions sold by the Tournament of Roses Association, who raised $272,198 to build the facility. It was completed in 1922 and deeded to the City of Pasadena the next year. It was nicknamed the "Rose Bowl" by local reporter Harlan W. Hall and hosted the 1923 Rose Bowl game in which USC defeated Penn State, 14-3.
The stadium was expanded to 76,000 seats in 1928 by enclosing the open end and the wood structure was replaced by concrete in 1931, with capacity expanded to 83,000 (Olympic cycling was held there in 1932). By 1949, the capacity reached 100,807 and the wooden benches were replaced with aluminum in 1969.
In 1972, permanent seating in the north and south ends raised the capacity to its high point of 104,594 and the Rose Bowl's all-time seating record of 106,869 was set for the 1973 game when USC beat up on Ohio State, 42-17, to win the national championship.
A series of improvements were undertaken to make the Rose Bowl more comfortable and these accelerated when UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl for its home games beginning with the 1982 season. Seat backs were added and renovations were made to the field, locker rooms, concession and restroom areas. The capacity now stands at 91,500.
The Rose Bowl was one of the stars of the 1984 Olympic Games as the soccer tournament filled the stadium to capacity. An $11.5 million, state-of-the-art press box and luxury suite project was completed in 1992 and the stadium was filled with the sounds of soccer again for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, with the final played at the Rose Bowl (Brazil defeated Italy on penalty kicks). In 1999, one of the most electric moments in U.S. sports history took place when the final of the FIFA Women's World Cup concluded with the U.S. defeating China on penalty kicks.
Of course, the stadium has played host to five NFL Super Bowls in 1977, 1980, 1983, 1987 and 1993, the Bowl Championship Series title game in 2002 (Miami defeating Nebraska) and has been the home field for the Los Angeles Galaxy from inception in 1995 through the 2002 season.
It is surrounded by lush grounds and installations including Brookside Golf Course to the north and baseball fields, the Rosemont Pavilion and the AAF Rose Bowl Aquatics Center to the south. The Rose Bowl is also the popular site of the world's largest monthly flea market, held the first weekend of every month.
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Quick Facts
•The basics:
The Rose Bowl seats 91,500 for UCLA football in a steep bowl configuration. The field is natural grass and is illuminated for night play and television coverage.
•Location and parking:
The Rose Bowl is located in the Arroyo Seco in the City of Pasadena. It is accessed from the Ventura (134) freeway (Linda Visa exit) and from the Foothill (210) Freeway (use the Arroyo Boulevard exit).
•Management:
The Rose Bowl is operated by the Rose Bowl Operating Company. The general manager is Darryl Dunn; inquiries concerning use of the facility can be forwarded to Dunn at (626) 577-3100.
•Technical information:
The Rose Bowl has a natural turf field of Bermuda grass. The stands are close to the field as there is no track. Lighting is installed for night play and is satisfactory for television use.
There are four locker rooms at the south end of the field. The home and visitors locker rooms each have 86 stalls and there are smaller rooms for officials (32 stalls) and an ancillary room for performers if needed (17). There is also a field-level interview room (1,500 sq.ft.) opposite one locker room and five small meeting rooms scattered throughout the facility.
The three-level press box and luxury suite complex atop the west side of the stadium offers space for more than 300 media and support personnel on the main press box (second) level, with broadcast booths on the top level. Suites are located on the first level.
Spectator amenities include 20,000 surface parking spaces surrounding the facility (including Brookside Golf Course), numerous ticket booths, six permanent and more than two dozen temporary concession stands and two large matrix message/scoreboards, plus a video replay board (added in 1997).