Committee Votes to Support New Rose Bowl Operating Agreement, With a Few Changes

The City Council’s Economic Development and Technology Committee voted to support the Rose Bowl Operating Company’s proposed new operating agreement, but not before suggesting a few tweaks.

The iconic stadium wants an evergreen agreement that would allow for 25 displacement events, up from 15, per year for 10 years.

A displacement event refers to any event with an expected attendance of 20,000 people or more.

In order to hold more than 15 events the stadium must seek approval of the City Council.

Over the past several years the stadium has held more than 22 events at the stadium each year.

The Rose Bowl Operating Company wanted the City Council to make findings en masse about the events for the next 10 years. Councilmember Jason Lyon proposed instead that the findings would still be required but the Rose Bowl Operating Company would make them instead of the City Council.

“When the operating agreement was written, it was written to provide as much flexibility as possible to Rose Bowl Operating Company because we just didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Rose Bowl general manager Jens Wieden.

“If you look, we’ve made it through a pandemic, terrorist attacks, and our tenants have moved [football] conferences and the flexibility has really enabled us to be creative and to go out and do the things that we need to do. I don’t think when they wrote the operating agreement, they thought that we would do drive-in [movies] during the pandemic that would net the Rose Bowl Operating Company upwards of $3 million. But the operating agreement allowed us to do that and it allowed us to try and minimize the loss in those tough years.”

Perhaps the biggest change is that the new agreement would be an evergreen agreement that could be re-negotiated by the City Council if problems arise.

The letter outlined several key areas of focus, including the Rose Bowl Operating Company’s structure, authority, and jurisdiction, as well as opportunities for efficiency of operations and enhanced relationship with the City.

Other possible changes mentioned include the creation of a Conservancy District, third-party management options, and a possible merger with the Pasadena Center Operating Company, which manages the Pasadena Convention Center, that could lead to the establishment of a new Pasadena Tourism/Sports/Entertainment Authority, the memorandum showed.

The proposal also touches upon the financial aspects of the agreement, with provisions for capital funding to ensure the long-term viability of the Rose Bowl Stadium. The Rose Bowl Operating Company aims to present its annual and long-term identified capital needs list to the City on an annual basis, ensuring transparency and collaboration in preserving the historic stadium.

Another aspect of the proposed changes concerns streamlining processes related to insurance, financial reporting, and disposal of surplus personal property. The Rose Bowl Operating Company indicated it’s exploring options to auction or raffle off personal property with sentimental or memorabilia value at special events, subject to approval based on a “valid public purpose” to return economic value to the Rose Bowl Operating Company.

Example? The possible auctioning off of old, disused stadium seats to collectors.

The Rose Bowl Operating Company described the proposed overall package of changes as having a “light touch” that would not significantly change the structure of the parties’ relationships.

The Rose Bowl Operating Company, formed in 1994 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, has played an important role in managing the Rose Bowl Stadium and Brookside Golf Courses. Both venues showcase Pasadena as a college football venue and a host for high-profile events and performances.