For most of the roughly 90,000 people who fill the Rose Bowl on a game day, the field, the press box and the original 1922 locker room stay out of reach. On Friday, July 31, anyone holding a ticket can walk them.
That morning, the stadium’s own program, Rose Bowl Stadium Tours, leads two guided walks through the Pasadena landmark — one at 10:30 a.m. and a second at 12:30 p.m. — inside a venue that has been a National Historic Landmark since 1987.
The Rose Bowl sits in Pasadena’s Arroyo Seco, about 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles, and opened in October 1922. Designed by architect Myron Hunt and built as a horseshoe for $272,198, it was enclosed into a full bowl in 1928. The first Rose Bowl Game at the stadium was played on January 1, 1923, when USC defeated Penn State 14-3.
According to the organizer’s Eventbrite listing, the tour route passes through the original 1922 locker room, the current locker rooms, the press box, the Court of Champions and the field. The same listing says guides cover events at the stadium ranging from the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame to Brandi Chastain’s game-winning kick in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final.
Those are among the events the stadium has hosted over more than a century. It has been the site of five Super Bowls, the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final and the gold medal soccer match of the 1984 Summer Olympics. It has been the home of UCLA Bruins football since 1982.
The stadium is owned by the City of Pasadena and operated by the Rose Bowl Operating Company, which manages the venue and the adjacent Brookside Golf Course on the city’s behalf. The venue markets itself as “America’s Stadium.” Its modern seated capacity is listed at about 89,700, though figures cited by the venue’s partners run higher.
The organizer’s listing asks visitors to park in Lot F and meet the tour team at Gate A, to arrive at least 15 minutes early and to allow up to two hours. It recommends walking shoes and notes that parts of the tour take place outdoors.
If you go: According to the organizer’s Eventbrite listing, the Rose Bowl Stadium Public Tours take place Friday, July 31, at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena. Tickets start at $22.19, including fees, and are sold through Eventbrite; refunds are offered up to one day before the tour. Parking is in Lot F, and the meeting point is Gate A. The stadium lists tour information at rosebowlstadium.com/tours, and its general line is (626) 577-3100.
The field is part of the route — the same ground where USC and Penn State opened the stadium’s Rose Bowl history on January 1, 1923.
Rose Bowl Stadium Public Tours | Date: Friday, July 31, 10:30 AM & 12:30 PM | 📍 Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena | 🔗 https://www.rosebowlstadium.com/tours
