UCLA, Rose Bowl Hoping for Better Attendance Against LSU

Rose Bowl and UCLA officials are hoping for better attendance when the Bruins square off against the LSU Tigers on Saturday.

Last week, just 32,982 people showed up at the nearly 91,000-seat stadium to see UCLA defeat the University of Hawaii’s Rainbow Warriors by a score of 44-10. 

Attendance at the lopsided contest was dangerously close to the lowest Bruins home game attendance, which was on Nov. 7, 1992, with 32,513 ticket holders watching the Bruins beat the Oregon State University Beavers 26 to 14.

UCLA faced lagging attendance before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. In 2019, the Bruins averaged 43,848 fans per game,  the lowest average for UCLA since the football team first started playing home games in the Rose Bowl in 1982.

Saturday’s game could see a much larger crowd. 

The school is offering free tickets to the game to all of its students.

It was not known if Hurricane Ida, which has devastated much of Louisiana, would hamper travel. 

Locally, Pasadena City Councilmember Felicia Williams, who represents District 2, has two sets of tickets for the game and is making them available to residents living in her district.

In order to qualify for the tickets, residents must send an email to ddyson@cityofpasadena.net that includes their complete name, home address, and cell phone number. 

The people who send emails closest to noon on Friday will get the tickets. The first person to make contact will get their choice of the two sets of tickets.

Masks, according to a Pasadena Public Health Order, must be worn inside the stadium at all events with more than 10,000 attendees, regardless of vaccination status.

“The Rose Bowl is excited to host one of the biggest games for UCLA in recent memory,” said stadium General Manager Daryl Dunn. “LSU has a great tradition and we look forward to welcoming them for the first time ever to America’s Stadium.”