Pasadena bullish about UCLA in Big Ten
UCLA's decision to leave for the Big Ten Conference shocked fans of college football when it was announced last month.
But stadium stewards, university leaders and members of the Pasadena City Council believe the move may also shock some life into a debt-burdened Rose Bowl once thousands of passionate fans from Ohio, Nebraska, Michigan and ogher Midwestern states find their way to Southern California for games.
The move won't happen until the 2024-25 season, but the decision to head east sparked questions over whether the Rose Bowl Game would follow and eventually settle in a new home outside of Pasadena.
The terms of the Rose Bowl Game broadcast agreement with ESPN runs through the 2026 game, according to Amy Wainscott, 2023 president and chairman of the board of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.
During that time, Wainscott wrote in a letter to volunteer members on Friday, the stadium is set to host a traditional Rose Bowl Game in 2023 and a playoff semifinal in 2024 before again hosting traditional Big Ten and Pac-12 matchups in 2025 and 2026.
But not even Wainscott knows if the college football landscape is done shifting, since new rules allow student-athletes the ability to transfer schools more easily and get paid for their abilities, which was once illegal. Prospective broadcast agreements are prompting universities to do all they can to put their athletic departments in the best possible position financially, according to Wainscott.
“The landscape of college football is rapidly changing,” Wainscott wrote, acknowledging there will likely be more changes in the coming months.
Tournament leaders intend to continue working, though, “to figure out what the future of the Rose Bowl Game looks like in this new era of college football,” Wainscott said. “While the future is somewhat uncertain, we know we must be flexible and open to changes as we work to ensure that the tradition of the Rose Bowl game will continue into the future of college football.”
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo said on Friday that flexibility will be key, since nobody can be sure what the future holds.
One thing Gordo is sure of, he said, is that the time, date and location of the Rose Parade or bowl game will not be changed anytime soon.
Thirty-year agreements with UCLA and the Tournament of Roses were recently signed to help the venue maintain relevance in Southern California's increasingly crowded marketplace of venues, a move that's necessary perhaps now more than ever. That's because the Rose Bowl — which is owned by the city of Pasadena — is having trouble self-sustaining itself monetarily after nearly $200 million in stadium renovations, according to financial records.
The pandemic has exacerbated the problem, reads a report from CAA ICON — a financial consulting company contracted by the RBOC — which states the RBOC and city's debt obligation “is the greatest weight” on Pasadena's future financial projections.
To address the debt, the city made $11.5million in debt service payments, and the RBOC plans to pay $12.3 million this year in net debt service.
Bond debt service expenses, however, are due to increase by approximately $300,000 to $400,000 annually until fiscal year 2032, which has prompted worry about long-term pressure on the city's budget reserves.
But because tradition is a currency of its own in college football, and the Rose Bowl is perhaps the most adored stadium in the country, Gordo and his peers in the city believe everybody in the local area will benefit once fans from prestigious
Big 10 powerhouses leave their snow-filled driveways to enjoy Southern California on Saturdays in the fall and winter.
“This gives the Tournament of Roses and the university the flexibility to ensure the best teams are coming into the stadium in the regular season and on New Year's Day,” Gordo said. “Remember, these are people who are passionate, so they travel well, as we've seen during the Rose Bowl Game. So you add to that to the regular season and I think it'll be a success.”
Councilman Steve Madison echoed Gordo, adding that the conference changeup will increase stadium attendance as well as dollars circulating in the economies of surrounding cities.
“Our area is a community of transplants. There's people who follow Michigan, who follow Penn State, who follow Iowa, so it's going to be great because they're all going to be able to join with fans from out of state at the Rose Bowl, a stadium that's probably the most beloved and decorated in the entire sport of college football,” said Madison, who represents the west Pasadena neighborhoods above the
Rose Bowl. “And then after the game they'll head to Old Pasadena, where they'll enjoy nightlife and entertainment that, I think, will keep them returning to our city for years to come.”
Having worked at Michigan State and Ohio State before taking on his current role in May 2020, UCLA Athletic Director Martin Jarmond is no stranger to the Big Ten's history of prestigious programs, proud fans and academic excellence, which is why he also expects the move to the Big Ten Conference will provide a boost to the university's athletic program as a whole.
“As an athletic director, I've been looking at the landscape over the past year and really analyzing where I think it is going,” Jarmond told the Southern California News Group. “I'm a firm believer that if you are standing still, then you are falling behind. … This isn't a decision for now, this is a decision for the future of UCLA athletics and how best we position our athletics programs to have sustained excellence moving forward in a changing college athletics environment.”
Football has traditionally led the charge in building the Rose Bowl brand, but UCLA has struggled to fill the stadium in recent seasons.
The team's season opener against Hawaii in August 2021 was the first time in 637 days that fans were allowed in the Rose Bowl, but many stayed away. UCLA announced 32,982 had attended the game, which set a new record for lowest attendance of a Bruins home game.
A few seasons prior, UCLA finished the 2019 football season with an average attendance of 43,848 — their lowest at the Rose Bowl since moving to the venue in 1982.
From 2009 to 2018, the highest attendance average was 76,650 in 2014 and 70,285 in 2013. But a matchup against LSU on national television last season may offer a preview of what to expect when Ohio State, Michigan State and other powerhouses begin traveling to Pasadena and the neighboring Coliseum. The university announced 68,123 were in attendance for the game against the Tigers last year, which was the first time LSU has played in the Rose Bowl.
It'll be a few years until the effects of the Big Ten move play out, but Jarmond said he's looking forward to getting back to the Rose Bowl this September in the meantime.
“We are excited to compete in the Rose Bowl this fall, starting Sept. 3 (against Bowling Green),” he said. “We are excited and have some new elements we are bringing this year, much like we did last year. Playing in the Rose Bowl is iconic and we hope to continue to attract fans and more energy to the stadium and that experience, so we can give our football student athletes every advantage to win.”
Meanwhile, Gordo is organizing a meeting with the Tournament of Roses, UCLA, city leaders and the Rose Bowl Operating Company to discuss the opportunities that will be presented by the move to the Big Ten.
“This is a tremendous opportunity — a game changer if you will — for UCLA football, the Tournament of Roses, the Rose Bowl Game, Rose Bowl stadium and city of Pasadena,” Gordo said. “We should be working together in what I believe is a great opportunity to ensure the future of all parties involved. And I look forward to seeing what results.”