PASADENA : City Council Votes to Make Bid for 1998 Super Bowl

The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to make a bid to host the 1998 Super Bowl game in the city’s Rose Bowl, after negotiators warned that a dispute over money could shoot down the deal.

National Football League team owners are scheduled on Oct. 27 to choose between Pasadena, San Diego and Tampa Bay as the site for Super Bowl XXXIII.

Last week, Councilmen Chris Holden and William Paparian had threatened to withhold their support for the city’s bid because local sponsors of the event failed to come through with the $1 million they had promised the city for hosting this year’s Super Bowl. Citing lower-than-expected revenues from January’s football game, the nonprofit Los Angeles Sports Council, which negotiates for athletic events in the area, has offered Pasadena just $200,000 instead.

This time, however, the deal with the city would be structured differently, enabling Pasadena to reap more than $700,000 from parking and concessions.