Rose Bowl Strategic Plan:

The Rose Bowl Operating Company proposes to manage a multi-track process to develop a plan for the future of the Rose Bowl that will seek to ensure its financial stability and its continuing status as a preeminent college football stadium.

At a minimum, there are two issues that must be reviewed thoroughly. First, we will evaluate public safety enhancements that will analyze both potential improvements to evacuation of the Rose Bowl, as well as security features for the stadium. Second, the Plan will review in detail the factors necessary to enable the stadium to be competitive with other major college football stadiums throughout the country as well as other sports and entertainment venues in Southern California. Cost estimates and prospective funding sources will be an important part of the planning process.

SETTING THE STAGE

The Rose Bowl is an 83 year-old stadium with maintenance requirements that can be expected to increase each year. It operates at an annual net loss and is subsidized by revenue from Brookside Golf Course operations. The Rose Bowl has a special and historic relationship with the Tournament of Roses such that the two entities are synonymous to many in the country and around the world. The Tournament hosts the Rose Bowl game each year, which produces the largest single contribution of revenue to Rose Bowl operations, maintenance, and improvements. At the same time, the long-term relationship with UCLA is critical to the future of the stadium. The Tournament's lease with the City expires in 2019, while UCLA's lease with the RBOC expires in 2023. Without question, it is essential that the stadium is both maintained at a high level, and has features so each of our primary tenants will renew those two lease arrangements. In addition, it is vital that the Rose Bowl Stadium host the new BCS National Championship Game. There is no guarantee of that in future years, and the condition of the stadium will be an important element if the Rose Bowl is to continue to be the dominant facility for bowl games in the United States.

In these deliberations about the future of the Rose Bowl, we will ask all concerned to think outside the box, to set aside any preconceived notions of what they might like the result to be, and to take this opportunity to bring an imaginative and critical, but impartial eye to what may or may not be possible. However, we also recognize we will not be acting on a clean slate with nothing to limit our imaginations. We must take into account the physical limitations of the stadium, the historic aspects of the stadium, as well as how to pay for potential improvements identified in the Plan. The main goal of this effort is to devise a plan to insure that the Rose Bowl remains a premier football venue in the United States.

RENOVATION PLAN OUTLINE

The three main elements of the Renovation Plan Process are:

  • Architecture
  • Financial Analysis
  • Community Outreach

The architectural portion of the Renovation Plan will address the following:
Architecture

  • Input from a variety of stakeholders (tenants, public safety officials, community) to develop a program for the facility.
  • Development of improvement options.
  • Evaluation of public safety enhancement.
  • Review of current concourse and examination of opportunities to improve the circulation of the facility and the appearance of the concourse.
  • Recognition of status as a National Historic Landmark and recommendations that will not jeopardize that status.
  • Develop site improvements to enhance pre game and post event activities.
  • Incorporating premium seating, suites and/or club areas for additional revenue.
  • Incorporate new press facilities into a premium seating addition.
  • Incorporate new video board technology into the stadium.
  • Incorporate a museum recognizing the rich sports history of the stadium.
  • Conceptual level cost estimates for options desired.

To date, there has been some initial work done by HOK Architecture, which was retained by staff on a preliminary basis. This work was primarily designed to provide programmatic input by the tenants and members of the community.

Areas of concern that UCLA and the Tournament of Roses raised in their meetings with the architects included the following:

  1. Public Safety
    1. Improve access into and from the stadium, possibly modifying tunnels or adding additional access.
    2. Redesign concourse area to achieve better crowd flow and improve service related to food service stands and bathroom facilities.
  2. Improved "Functional Space"
    1. Explore upgrading/replacing outdated Press Box to create up-to-date working press area and to provide updated suites and club seat type amenities to generate additional revenue.
    2. Assess need for additional functional space for meetings, storage, game operations, offices and the like.
  3. Parking and traffic flow/control issues.
  4. Stadium lighting and sound systems, scoreboard/message board systems, and stadium advertising systems.
  5. Field improvement, overall stadium look and long-term maintenance issues.

Financial

Concurrent with the architectural process of the Renovation Plan, a financing plan will be developed that will evaluate the potential market demand for premium seating (luxury suites, club seats, club areas, etc.) and other opportunities that may be available to fund future capital improvement needs.

In addition, a financial analysis of the proposed renovation will be prepared that will also identify potential funding strategies such as:

  • Potential private/public partnership with a third party related to premium seating
  • Ticket surcharge.
  • Parking surcharge.
  • Contributions from the City of Pasadena, Tournament of Roses and UCLA.
  • Enhanced sponsorship opportunities, including field naming rights.
  • Philanthropic opportunities.

Community Outreach

A city-wide community outreach effort began at a meeting on April 5, 2006 at which community members provided their initial input to the architects. It is the RBOC's intent to invite all neighborhood associations and organizations that have expressed an interest in the Rose Bowl previously. In addition, we will request an opportunity to present the Renovation Plan at each of the city council member's council district meetings.

We intend to elicit views and suggestions from the community at large on event mix, , potential operational concerns and revenue enhancement opportunities in order to help fund the improvements, that emerge through discussions with officials from the Tournament of Roses and UCLA.

At the community meeting held on April 5th, the following organizations were represented:

  • Orange Heights Neighborhood Association
  • East Eaton Washington Neighborhood Association
  • Concerned Neighbors of Mayfield School
  • West Pasadena Residents Association
  • Greenwood/Allen Neighborhood Association
  • Flowers of Marengo Organization
  • Arroyo Terrace Association
  • Seco Neighborhood Association
  • Pasadena Chamber of Commerce
  • Linda Vista/Annandale Homeowners Association
  • East Arroyo Residents Association
  • Arroyo Seco Foundation
  • Pasadena Heritage
  • Kidspace Children's Museum
  • Rose Bowl Aquatic Center
  • Friends of the Foothills
  • Historic Highlands Neighborhood Association
  • Montana Central Banner Block
  • Villa Marengo Homeowners Association
  • Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood Association
  • W. D. Edison
  • Pasadena Neighborhood Coalition
  • Windsor/Arroyo Neighborhood Association

FISCAL IMPACT:

The following budget has been developed for the planning process.

FINANCING BUDGET FOR RENOVATION PLANNING PROCESS

1. Architect   $181,500
2. Finance Historical analysis, market surveys, market demand and financial/ funding potential $75,000
3. Community Outreach Printing, mailings, coordinate community outreach $35,000
4. Historic Preservation Historic Preservation Consultant $25,000
5. Virtual Tour Video presentation of Master Plan $25,000
6. Landscape Design Conceptual design incorporated into Stadium design $20,000
7. Structural Engineering Existing evaluation, design, consultation and conceptual design $50,000
8. Code Consultant Code analysis of the existing conditions, Recommendations for future $20,000
9. Ancillary Consultants Independent cost estimators, accessibility consultant $65,000
    Grand total $496,500

The Tournament of Roses and UCLA have agreed to provide up to $125,000 each for the funding of the planning effort. Contingent upon the approval of the Renovation Plan being presented to City Council on May 8, 2006, the City of Pasadena will provide up to $250,000 for the funding of this effort, for a total budget of up to $500,000 for the planning effort.

Click here to download the Rose Bowl Master Plan draft 2-23-07
(PDF File 10.6MB)