Rose Bowl Finances Improve, City Won’t Need to Contribute Funds to Support the Stadium in 2023

The City Council’s Finance Committee will first discuss  Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC) budget on Monday during the start of a series of publicly accessible budget workshops where each City department and affiliated agency will present their budget for 2023. The Finance Committee meeting, and the budget workshops, conducted through video conference only, can be viewed on the City-owned Pasadena Media channel on cable as well as online.

The budget for the Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC) which manages the Rose Bowl Stadium and nearby Brookside Park and Golf Course, is proposed at $62.4 million in operating expenses, and $12.9 million in Capital appropriations, for fiscal year 2023, the budget transmittal showed.

In the transmittal, Interim City Manager Cynthia J. Kurtz said the proposed enhancements and the resetting of departments budgets, especially those funded by the General Fund, “would not have been fiscally feasible without the financial improvement of the  RBOC.”

“As presented in last year’s budget, it was anticipated the RBOC would need ongoing financial assistance to cover a portion of their debt service,” Kurtz’s report said. “Fortunately, as a result of better than expected actuals in both FY 2021 and 2022, the receipt of a $10 million Shuttered Venue grant, and a slightly better future forecast, the RBOC does not require an annual contribution in FY 2023.”

Kurtz added the expected assistance for the RBOC in future years has also decreased.

The RBOC, a non-profit, public benefit corporation, was founded in 1995 by action of the Pasadena City Council. Its primary purpose is to preserve the Rose Bowl Stadium as an iconic facility, while contributing economic and civic value to the City of Pasadena by managing such a world-class stadium and a professional-quality golf course complex.

As a legally separate entity, the RBOC has an independent board that governs its operations and adopts its annual budget. The operations of the RBOC are accounted for as a distinct component unit of the City.

Monday’s budget workshop can be accessed via http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 and www.pasadenamedia.org.

Public comment is allowed during the meeting, but those intending to speak are required to submit a speaker card prior to the start of public comment. Speaker cards can be submitted through the webpage www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment.

The meeting can also be accessed through Zoom, at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/161482446 or by dialing (669) 900-6833 and using the meeting ID 161 482 446.