Tournament of Roses Executive Committee Voted 13-1 to Move Rose Bowl Game

[UPDATED] The Tournament of Roses Executive Committee voted 13-1 to move the Rose Bowl Game to Arlington, Texas Pasadena Now has learned.

The motion never separated the name from the game.

“To allow the Rose Bowl Game to be held elsewhere in a viable and safe location that keeps players and staff safe, branded as the Rose Bowl Game.”

If the committee voted against the motion the College Football Playoff would not have had access to the Rose Bowl Game and trademarks.

The Tournament of Roses would not reveal the name of the member that voted against moving the game.

Every three years the Tournament of Roses is contractually obligated to host the CFP semifinal game as the Rose Bowl Game. 

This year the Tournament put on the Rose Bowl Game in Arlington, Texas after the CFP declared a force majeure. The clause also known as a superior force clause, relieves parties from performing their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise.

“We are contractually obligated to host the game so when it was moved it was important to use the name,” said Amy Wainscott, executive vice president. “We wanted to keep the name in place and keep the link between the CFP and our game.”

But the decision to keep that link has led to a lawsuit between the city and the Tournament of Roses over the rights to the name and the associated trademarks. The city says it co-owns the name with the Tournament. The Tournament is claiming exclusive rights. 

The dispute has left some local residents believing that the CFP would auction the game to arenas around the country every three years. College football is a sport driven by southern and midwestern states.

This past year not one west coast team was in the CFP four team race for the National Championship.

A CFP playoff in the south or midwest could be worth millions to a city in TV rights and tourism just as it is to Pasadena.   

“There has never been during my time since 2014 [when Miller joined the Tournament’s Executive Committee] a discussion that ever contemplated relocating the game from Pasadena or the stadium. The Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade are synonymous with the city of Pasadena,” said Tournament of Roses President Robert Miller, who moved to Pasadena with his family in 1969. “We would never ever consider it unless there was a force majeure that had to do with public health and safety issues.”

“I believe Pasadena is an incredibly diverse and wonderful place and one of the best things to ever happen to my wife and I is that we committed to Pasadena. Our association’s intent is to always host the game and the parade here in Pasadena.”

Letters between both sides reveal contentious exchanges since the CFP announced the game would be moved. In a Dec. 27 letter signed by A. John P. Mancini of Meyer Brown, Mancini warned attorneys for the city not to contact CFP, ESPN, or the universities playing in the contest and hoped the city would sign an amendment guaranteeing a $2 million payment from the Tournament to the city.

City officials say they learned the game was being moved during the broadcast of a UCLA game and the Tournament and the CFP had been in discussions for months to move the game.

In a press release the city called the lawsuit contentious and egregious.

Miller said he respected the rights of the elected officials to speak up and did not take the comments personally.

“I personally don’t think the relationship has gone bad,” Miller said. “It continues to be mutually beneficial to the city and the residents and the Tournament. We maintain the partnership and hold it in the highest regard.”

But Miller said the issues of ownership need to be clarified by a third party to get resolved and added the Tournament does not wish to cause harm to the city. Miller added that even if the issue is not resolved by Jan. 1 the Tournament will produce a parade and football game in Pasadena.

“Everybody is excited about moving on,” Wainscott said. “The membership is really optimistic. We are working hard and building towards 2022.” 

The game and the parade result in $40 million to the city and $200 to $300 million across the region. 

“The cloud needs to be lifted so we can continue to do the good work,” Miller said. “We believe we need a third party to mediate or adjudicate to get this resolved. We want to be viable for another 107 years.”