Guest Opinion | Laurence Todd: Is Rose Bowl GM Darryl Dunn, Replaceable?

The same year that the Rose Bowl will celebrate its centennial operation, its General Manager, Darryl Dunn, will be retiring after nearly 30 years.  At a time when the future of the Rose Bowl has been challenged be it in social media, the court room or from the emergence of competing venues south of the 110 freeway, his trusted leadership which can be described as enthusiastic, decisive, and most, importantly, competent, will be missed.

I didn’t agree with all of the decisions concerning the Rose Bowl championed under Mr. Dunn’s tenure.  However, I valued his (and his staffs) communication skills and integrity demonstrated in the face of opposition.

It is reported that The Rose Bowl Operating Company, which operates the Rose Bowl, issued a statement that it will immediately begin searching for Mr. Dunn’s replacement.

But is Mr. Dunn replaceable?

Arguably, everyone is, but for the role of General Manager for the Rose Bowl, the Granddaddy of them all, the question is valid.  More specifically, how do we prepare the Rose Bowl for the next 100 years….and who will navigate its path for the next 30 years before we find ourselves passing the baton?

The Rose Bowl does not need another General Manager, in the general sense.  We should be less concerned about one’s academic record, or who can explain a financial ledger, has the keys to the building….or pays its bill.

The Rose Bowl needs a visionary. I say this thinking of Mr. Dunn describing to me in 2019 how he and Pasadena Sports Hall of Famer Alumnus and Super Bowl Champion, Mario Clark, shared office space when he was first hired.  No matter how small his confinements were, you could see it didn’t preclude his vision for what he wanted to accomplish as the Rose Bowl’s new General Manager.  Nearly 30 years, later, we’ve learned from Mr. Dunn that managing and operating the Rose Bowl is a race to, and in preparation of, the future.  Visionary.

The future of the Rose Bowl will be secured in the vision- the imagination and unusual foresight, of its new General Manager…even if we the fans, and the residents, don’t recognize it at first glimpse.

Laurence Todd is the president of the Pasadena Sports Hall of Fame