Cost of Rose Bowl revamp keeps rising

The cost of renovating the Rose Bowl has risen by another $2 million, officials say, pushing the project’s budget gap to roughly $39 million.

The news comes as the Rose Bowl Operating Co. is seeking a $30.6-million loan and delaying parts of the project to save $14 million.

The total price tag for creating new luxury seating and an expanded press box, adding new scoreboards, shoring up old parts of the structure, widening tunnels and other repairs is now $177 million, but that could be reduced to $162 million after deferring some of the planned work.

The original estimate for the project was $152 million.

The $2-million increase announced last week is needed as a contingency should construction costs continue to exceed estimates, according to officials. During the nearly two years of construction, crews have seen the cost of some materials rise and have found that the infrastructure of the stadium was not as sound as expected.

The Rose Bowl Operating Co. is in discussions with the stadium’s main users — UCLA and the Tournament of Roses — to reduce the scope of the third and final phase of the renovation.

Officials said they are under a tight deadline because they need to bid out the next segment of construction in the coming weeks in order to complete the project by the original Jan. 1, 2014, deadline.

Some of the work that may be delayed includes creation of six new concession stands and some tunnels that would connect walkways to stadium seats.

Rose Bowl and city officials may seek to borrow the $30.6 million via an internal loan from Pasadena, issuing bonds or restructuring the existing debt on the Brookside Golf Course, which is next to the stadium.

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