City Issues Statement on Rose Bowl Game

While the City of Pasadena is disappointed that it will not host a Rose Bowl Game or Tournament of Roses parade on January 1, we are excited for the year ahead and our preparations for New Year’s Day 2022 have already begun.

Today, we face a devastating worldwide pandemic that has claimed almost two million lives across the world and more than 23,000 lives in California alone. Like so many of our sister cities across the nation, the City of Pasadena is facing unprecedented challenges and difficult decisions as it continues to work with Los Angeles County and the State of California to protect the health and safety of its residents, visitors and employees.

The College Football Playoff’s decision to relocate the 2021 CFP semifinal game is disappointing for the City and for all who hold a special place in their hearts for the Rose Bowl Stadium and the Game.  The City and Rose Bowl Stadium safely and successfully hosted four home UCLA football games this fall and believe that we could have done the same for the Rose Bowl Game on January 1. However, at this time, with the pandemic at a critical stage in our state, state guidelines remain in place and we will honor those guidelines developed by the state. 

Every New Year’s Day, the world turns its eyes to Pasadena, when college football’s grandest stage, the Rose Bowl Game at the Rose Bowl Stadium, captivates millions around the world, as it has for almost a century. The Rose Bowl Game is weaved deep into the fabric of the City of Pasadena. It is who we are. That nearly-century long bond is why the City of Pasadena and its residents feel so strongly about the Rose Bowl. Only once has the Rose Bowl Game been played in another location and that was to protect the safety of all after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942.

Unprecedented is truly an understatement. That is why the City of Pasadena has agreed to allow the Tournament of Roses to relocate the official Rose Bowl Game in 2021. The Rose Bowl Game will not relocate again from Pasadena, unless it is forced to due to a national emergency. The values, the prestige and the meaning of the Rose Bowl Game remain uniquely Pasadena’s and it would be a disservice to the thousands of volunteers and residents if future games were to be considered for relocation. We look forward to welcoming the Rose Bowl Game and Tournament of Roses parade back to Pasadena on January 1, 2022.”