Rose Bowl Expected to Be Site of World Cup Final : Soccer: Pasadena also is picked to host seven other games in 1994 tournament. Area may reap $1 billion.

The international soccer federation is expected Monday to award the 1994 World Cup final, considered the world’s most popular single sporting event, to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Alan Rothenberg, president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, told The Times that the executive committee of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, will recommend to the 25-member FIFA Organizing Committee that the Rose Bowl host eight games, including one semifinal, the third-place game and the final, to be held July 17, 1994.

The U.S. World Cup organizers estimate that the eight games could bring $1 billion to Los Angeles.

The committee will vote Monday in Zurich, Switzerland.

If approved, the format will signal a break with World Cup convention and place a distinctive Los Angeles stamp on one of sport’s most tradition-bound events.

By placing games leading up to the final in the same city, another new idea, FIFA and World Cup ’94 organizers hope to create a festival atmosphere that would draw heavily on Los Angeles’ status as an entertainment capital.

“We’re going to be delighted if this happens,” said David Simon, who has been in charge of Los Angeles’ bid to host the final. “When we went into it several months ago we were going after the World Cup final--that in itself is a prize.

“But as it is proposed, as a package, we’ll be in the spotlight for a week. It’s even better.”

Ten years after hosting the most financially successful Olympic Games ever, Los Angeles can again expect a huge influx of international visitors. More than 2.7 million people attended the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Like the Olympics, the World Cup is held every four years.

“This has the potential to be, for Los Angeles, something significantly more than the Super Bowl,” said John Bryson, chairman of the committee that was responsible for Los Angeles’ original bid. “With this we have the opportunity to bring together many, many segments and ethnic groups in Los Angeles.”

Rothenberg, who is a former president of the California Bar Assn. and commissioner for soccer for the 1984 Olympics, said: “It’ll be like a Super Bowl and NBA Final atmosphere where everyone is here for a whole week.

“The format has never been used before for the World Cup. We’re really going to have a huge gathering. Everyone will be concentrated in L.A. The city will really be alive.”

Rothenberg said negotiations are under way to involve members of the entertainment industry in the event.

“The world is looking forward to that,” he said.

The World Cup was awarded to the United States on July 4, 1988. Los Angeles is one of nine cities selected to host the 52-game tournament. The others sites are RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.; the Cotton Bowl in Dallas; Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; Soldier Field in Chicago; Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto; the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.; Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., and the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich.

The 1994 World Cup is notable for its firsts--the matches in the Silverdome will be the first in the event’s 64-year history to be held indoors. Because World Cup rules prohibit games on artificial turf, a technique has been developed to grow grass indoors. The outdoor fields at Giants Stadium and the Cotton Bowl, which have artificial turf, will be converted to natural grass.

Rothenberg said the proposed schedule for the 24-team tournament has Chicago hosting the opening ceremony and the opening game on June 17, 1994. All nine cities will play host to four first-round games.

The round of 16 will be in the same cities except Detroit. “We don’t want to push our luck on how long the grass will stay usable,” Rothenberg said.

The quarterfinal games will be at Foxboro Stadium, the Meadowlands, the Cotton Bowl and Stanford Stadium.

The semifinal games will be at the Meadowlands and Rose Bowl.

The third-place game will be at the Rose Bowl on July 16 and the final will be July 17.

“Except for the semifinal at the Meadowlands, the whole world will be focused on L.A.,” Rothenberg said.

He called the World Cup a “shot in the arm” to the city, especially after the recent unrest. Rothenberg said there was some concern among FIFA members that Los Angeles would pose a security risk, but he said those fears have been allayed by a comprehensive security plan.

The Rose Bowl has been considered a strong contender to play host to the final since 26 cities submitted bids two years ago. The venue has proven that it can successfully hold soccer events--the Rose Bowl drew more than 1.4 million fans during the 1984 Olympic soccer competition, which accounted for more than one-third of total tickets sold during the Games.

Its size is also a selling point. With a capacity of 102,083, the Rose Bowl can accommodate 25,000 more fans than the next largest stadium. Because ticket sales are the largest source of income for World Cup ‘94, more games in Pasadena mean more profit for the organizing committee.

However, FIFA has been less interested in the Rose Bowl’s seating capacity than its advanced age. The facility was built in 1922; among the eight other World Cup venues only Soldier Field and Stanford Stadium are as old.

Rothenberg said that improvements being made to the Rose Bowl for the 1993 Super Bowl have satisfied any concerns FIFA has had.

The awarding of the final will end a 29-month process. Nineteen cites were culled from the original bid list and last March the nine host venues were chosen.