San Gabriel Valley : Rose Bowl Steps Into ‘90s With Video Screen

The venerable Rose Bowl is ushering in this afternoon’s start of the UCLA football season by adding the technology of the 1990s: a giant video screen.

“A lot of UCLA fans have been saying for years we need one of these things,” said Councilman William E. Thomson Jr, a UCLA game-day regular. “And now we’ve finally got it.”

The screen, which will display live action during football games, was loaned to the bowl by Japanese electronics giant Mitsubishi. The city hopes to install a permanent $3-million screen next year with a proposed $20-million stadium improvement plan, said Rose Bowl General Manager David Jacobs.

Installing the screen, which arrived in Los Angeles on Friday, was a rush order. Construction crews worked through the night Friday to secure the three-ton screen on scaffolding that hangs over the stadium, Jacobs said.

Bowl officials received word that their loaner had been approved on Monday and then had to truck in the equipment from Wisconsin, Jacobs said.

Pasadena’s City Council will vote Sept. 11 on the proposed stadium improvements, including theater-style seats, new scoreboards, a new sound system, extra concessions, additional restrooms and a permanent giant screen. It will also vote on a Rose Bowl Operating Co. Board recommendation to finance the upgrade by selling bonds.