Fans Get Into Rose Bowl--for the Right Price

On a day when Rose Bowl tickets were as rare as a warm New Year’s Day in Michigan, Victor Herrera sat alone in an empty hotel ballroom, staring at two big-screen televisions.

Surrounded by 20 empty tables, Herrera ate a hot dog as he watched his team, Michigan, battle Washington State for its first national championship in 50 years. Behind him, chafing dishes warmed hundreds of Swedish meatballs, potato skins and taco shells. Five hotel waiters languished nearby, waiting to clear a plate.

Herrera was apparently among only a handful of Michigan fans who didn’t find a way into the Rose Bowl on Thursday after their tour operators initially failed to come up with tickets for the 300-person group earlier this week.

Although prices soared as high as $1,000 per ticket in the days leading up to the game, most of the stiffed Wolverine fans apparently wound up inside the stadium--although some paid extra for the privilege.

One employee of the ticket broker, Worldwide Sport Travel, said the company managed to find tickets for everyone.

“Everyone was taken care of,” said the employee, who identified himself as Rick Sheppard, and said he coordinated bus travel for the ticket broker. “Things were blown way out of proportion.”

But Herrera told a different story. Warner Center Marriott hotel managers called police Tuesday evening, fearing the fans who did not have tickets were on the verge of riot. After that incident, Herrera said, Worldwide negotiated deals that culminated in a meeting New Year’s Eve at the hotel.

One by one, he said, fans were escorted by security guards into a room with Worldwide officials and given the option of paying an extra $250 for each ticket--money above the $1,500 most had already paid for the travel and game package. For those who didn’t pay the extra money, the company offered a $500 per person refund. Herrera chose the latter, but was skeptical Thursday that he would ever see the money.

“They have broken so many promises,” he said. ‘I just didn’t want to pay any more money.”

Few fans appeared to share Herrera’s feelings on New Year’s Day. The parking lot outside the Rose Bowl resembled a traders’ pit at the New York Stock Exchange, with potential buyers holding signs or signaling with one or two fingers the number of tickets they wanted to buy. Sellers approached furtively to close the illegal deal on tickets with a face value of $75.

Ross Peabody, 42, a Washington State fan, said he watched prices slip from $600 each at 8 a.m. to $300 by the 2 p.m. game time. Peabody, who said he has come to every Rose Bowl since 1980, said this was the first year he had been unable to find reasonably priced tickets.

He was holding out for $200 a ticket for him and his son.

“I’m not optimistic,” Peabody said as he glumly surveyed the parking lot. “If we do get in it’ll be in the second quarter. There are a lot more buyers than sellers out here.”

Others decided the game was worth the price. Friends Ian Tilley and Jenna Scanlon spent the night in a car in Pasadena to get up early enough Thursday morning to secure tickets. They had set a limit of $200, but broke down to buy one ticket for $300. By game time, the two Michigan fans were still searching for another. They were taking it all in stride.

“It’s been great,” Scanlon said. “Getting into the game will be the icing on the cake.”