Rose Bowl flight package sales down
Area travel agents see waning interest in game
When Ohio State University’s football team qualified for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in 2018, Grandview Travel on the Northwest Side sold 30 Rose Bowl travel packages.
But the company sold only two after Ohio State earned the right to play this season’s contest on Jan. 1 against University of Utah.
“I did an interview with WTVN promoting the Rose Bowl packages,” Travel Consultant Fred Kerner said, referring to a Columbus talk radio station. “But I don’t believe we got any calls that I’m aware of ” following that interview.
Travel agencies around Columbus experienced a similar drop-off in interest.
Every bowl appearance means flight bookings and calls to travel agencies, but the Rose Bowl, which is roughly 10 miles from Downtown Los Angeles, is uniquely appealing thanks to Pasadena’s tourist attractions and year-round spring-like weather.
This year the coronavirus and a regular season that ended with a loss to Ohio State’s most hated rival seem to have dampened interest in the game.
“There was a little disappointment with the Michigan loss,” said Nikki Lewis, director of marketing for Travel Partners in Dublin.
The yearly contest generates more interest than other bowl games.
“When we went a few years ago, we took 400 people to the Rose Bowl,” said Ike Reynolds, who owns Reynolds Travel in on the Far North Side.
In most years, the winners of the Big 10 and Pac-12 conferences compete in the Rose Bowl, and playing in the game is still considered an honor.
And it’s in Southern California during one of the coldest months of the year.
“There is definitely a draw as far as going to Pasadena in January,” Kerner said. “It’s fairly good weather for the most part. And we do sell more
packages typically for the Rose Bowl than with other bowl packages.”
In spite of the game’s pedigree, Reynolds Travel is only taking 60 people this season.
The rapidly spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus no doubt contributed to the decline, Reynolds said.
Ohio’s health department reported nearly 21,000 new COVID cases Sunday, and the disease has killed an average of 89 Ohioans every day for the past three weeks.
“It’s evident that there is a concern,”
Reynolds said.
Fans need to provide proof of COVID vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test to enter the stadium, and spectators must wear masks when they take their seats.
Just over 55% of Ohio’s population is fully vaccinated against coronavirus, and tests are still difficult to come by, excluding a large portion of the state’s population.
Beyond COVID, the Buckeyes’ recent success set sky-high expectations. The team qualified for the playoffs in the past two seasons and advanced to the championship game last season.
“I think a lot of people had their eyes on the college football championship,” Reynolds said.
A late-season blowout win over Michigan State, who was ranked seventh in the nation at the time, fueled those expectations. But a loss to rival Michigan in the last week of the regular season dashed the team’s playoff hopes.
“There was a little disappointment with the Michigan loss,” Lewis said.
That’s not to say there is no interest in the game. AAA’S Rose Bowl travel packages are sold out.
“While it may not be the bowl game Buckeyes fans were hoping for, it is still a legendary stadium surrounded by history and tradition,” said Kimberly Schwind, a senior manager for public affairs at AAA’S Ohio Auto Club. pcooley@dispatch.com @Patrickacooley