Ribbon Cutting for Newly Renovated Pavilion at the Rose Bowl

Mayor Bill Bogaard, members of the City Council and the Rose Bowl Operating Company Board of Directors hosted an open house on Saturday, June 8, giving the public full access to the newly finished renovations to the Pavilion at the Rose Bowl stadium.

Hotdogs and soda celebrated “America’s Stadium,” in the all American way at the official ribbon cutting for the Pavilion.

The Pavilion features 185,000 square feet of premium space. The renovated space includes 1,200 Club seats, 48 four-person Loge Boxes, and 54 Luxury Suites as well as private lounges and working press boxes.

Although portions of the structure were open in time for the 2012 UCLA football season and the Jan. 1, 2013 Rose Bowl Game, the open house marked the first public viewing of the Pavilion since its substantial completion this spring.

“I’m just grateful for how many people are here, people who take this community very seriously and recognize how important the Rose Bowl has been,” Mayor Bill Bogaard said. “The Rose Bowl has played such an important role in the development of the city, in putting the city on the map.”

This three-year project marks a historic occasion as the 8th renovation. While the project is substantially complete additional improvements will be made over the next couple of years to keep the Rose Bowl comfortable for the fans, a place that is truly memorable for all who visit here and a suitable venue for the important events that occur here.

“It’s hard to separate the progression and growth of the stadium from that of the city. When you look at our history in Pasadena they are intertwined,” President of the board of directors and city council representative Victor Gordo said, who first came to the stadium as a 13-year-old selling footballs for the super bowl.

Gordo continued, “Imagine that this place started out as a park. Then a generation of Pasadenans nurtured it into a small stadium. A subsequent generation of Pasadenans enclosed it and made it Pasadena’s stadium. Generations after that have nurtured this place to become America’s stadium. What’s really special is that 100 years from now, people will look back and recognize that this generation of Pasadenans did its part.”

Gerald Dunn had an idea three years ago to renovate this city’s historic landmark in a manner that would be worthy of this stadium and of this city. He reached out to Pasadena heritage, residents, tournament of roses, UCLA, and the leaders and stakeholders of the city, fighting hard to make this day happen, just in time for the 100th game at the Rose Bowl.

“This was also an economic development tool and I’d like to report that we were very successful, we set a goal to match what the local hire accomplishments were at City Hall and I’m happy to report, not only did we best the efforts at the city hall construction, but we did better than the convention center and city hall combined,” Gordo proudly announced.

The project hired 234 Pasadena residents, $2,333,000 was paid to those residents. $3,939,000 was paid to local subcontractors, and $6, 183,000 was paid to local vendors and consultants for a grand total of $12, 453,000 into the local economy.

The open house held true to its name, even allowing the public into the operating command post to see the behind the scenes action of police at work. With 32 large screens watching the innumerable cameras installed with the new system, it would be hard to escape the ever-watchful eye of Corporeal Julie Finney.

“I am proud that we’ve reached a milestone and new investment in the Rose Bowl to put it in good shape for decades in the future,” Bogaard said.

The renovations bring the Rose Bowl stadium into the modern era of ball fields. Level G has rooms for live broad casting and an innovative press box.

In addition to the Pavilion, the $181 million renovation includes improved access into and out of the Stadium, a state-of-the-art video board, reconstruction of the Rose Bowl’s 1940s vintage scoreboard and needed improvements to the 90-year-old building’s infrastructure.

Premium Sales Manager Mike Forrester said he was very pleased with the sales so far, already selling between 50-75 percent of the new seating. With the addition of a full kitchen on site on level B, full service catering will be available in the suites.

The Rose Bowl Stadium was designed by famed architect Myron Hunt and completed in 1922. The Stadium hosts the annual Rose Bowl Game – the “Granddaddy of Them All” – as well as UCLA home football games. Over the years, it has also hosted five Super Bowls, men’s and women’s World Cup finals, and Olympic events,.

The Rose Bowl is offering guided tours of the stadium featuring the original 1922 locker rooms and other exclusive behind the scenes access. The tours will be on June 22 and 23 at 10a.m., 12p.m., 2p.m., and 4p.m. Visit www.rosebowlstadium.com for tickets or call (626) 275-2714.

“So as you look around and think about the milestone that Pasadena is reaching today, lets also use it as a challenge to future generations to ensure that this sacred ground not just to college football, not just to the city of Pasadena, but to the entire country because this is America’s stadium. Let’s challenge future generations to do their part when the time comes,” Gordo said.