Pasadena Plans to Upgrade Rose Bowl

With the securing of the 1993 Super Bowl, Pasadena must move full speed ahead with $8.5 million in improvements to the Rose Bowl, officials said.

Completion of a new press box, 1,000 new club seats, a restaurant and Hall of Fame museum were part of the bid that secured Pasadena Super Bowl XXVII, said City Director William Paparian.

“Now the real work begins,” Paparian said. “We’re committed to building the press box and have it ready in time for the 1993 game,” set for Jan. 31.

The city will probably have to pass bonds for the project, but economic feasibility studies have not yet been completed, nor have architectural plans been drawn. The study will indicate whether Rose Bowl events generate enough money to repay the bonds or whether a city subsidy will be needed, said City Director Kathryn Nack.

Both directors said the improvements were needed to make the 69-year-old Rose Bowl more competitive with newer stadiums. The 1993 Super Bowl will provide the city with incentive to get the work done faster, they said.

The 1993 game will be the fifth time Pasadena has hosted the National Football League’s premier game. Bruce Ackerman, executive director of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, estimated the 1993 game will bring $150 million to the Los Angeles-area economy from increased business to hotels, restaurants and entertainment and transportation providers.

Nack said about $2 million of that money will benefit the Pasadena economy alone.

Pasadena officials, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Sports Council, had offered the Rose Bowl rent-free last year for the game and lost the bid to Phoenix. But when Arizona voters rejected a holiday honoring slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the NFL withdrew the game from Phoenix and reopened the bidding process.