Rose Bowl Gets OK for Improvements

An $8.2-million proposal to revamp the Rose Bowl press box and add 1,080 covered club seats below it was approved in concept Tuesday by the Pasadena Board of Directors, who hope to boost the city’s bid for the 1993 Super Bowl.

The city is offering the NFL rent-free use of the stadium, plus income from all concessions and novelty items, in exchange for up to $562,000 that would come from the sale of 1,500 game tickets allocated to the city.

Pasadena, through the Los Angeles Sports Council, is one of four finalists for pro football’s premier event. City officials traveled to New York on Feb. 20 and were told by the NFL that the city’s bid was an improvement over its winning 1987 proposal, said Ed Aghjayan, deputy city manager. But he added that league officials were concerned about how serious the city was in its intent to upgrade the Rose Bowl.

“This is a major deal-breaker,” Aghjayan said in a report to the board. Aghjayan will meet with NFL officials on March 13 in Orlando, Fla., to present the city’s final offer, including the conceptual approval for the renovations. A decision is expected that day or the next, he said.

Under the proposal approved by city directors, the two-story press box would be expanded to a three-story, 41,000-square-foot structure with 36 new media booths equipped with flexible walls to convert them to private VIP boxes. A lounge, restaurant and hall of fame museum would be added.

Construction would begin immediately after the 1991 Rose Bowl game and would be completed before the start of UCLA’s 1992 football season, Aghjayan’s report said.

The improvements could also boost the city’s bid to stage part of the 1994 World Cup soccer competition. Pasadena is one of 17 sites being considered. Up to 12 will be chosen as hosts to a minimum of three World Cup games apiece.