Rose Bowl May Need NFL Team to Stay Afloat

Saying they need to ensure the Rose Bowl doesn’t become an empty landmark, Pasadena City Council members on Monday voted unanimously to seek a major new tenant, possibly an NFL franchise.

City officials stressed that a pro football team in Pasadena remains just a concept, but one they must explore given their belief that the National Football League will have a team in the Los Angeles area in the next five years.

An NFL franchise in a renovated stadium is the best way to ensure that the 80-year-old landmark remains viable, according to a three-year business plan submitted by the Rose Bowl Operating Co. board.

“If it is not us who attracts an NFL team, it will be someone else with a new stadium, and that stadium, rest assured, will take all our tenants,” Councilman Victor Gordo said. “That would have a severe impact on Pasadena’s economy.... We’d be negligent not to pursue an NFL team.”

But council members said any commitment to professional football in the Arroyo Seco would come only after considerable review of environmental, neighborhood and preservation issues.

. “We’ve a responsibility to maintain the Rose Bowl’s national prominence,” said Darryl Dunn, general manager. “An NFL team as a major tenant is the best way to make that happen.”

The aging Rose Bowl, which has hosted five Super Bowls, would require extensive renovations to lure an NFL franchise from another major city. Despite recent renovations, its 46 suites are far from luxurious, its amenities outdated and conditions generally crammed in the 92,000-seat venue.

Critics say it is a pipe dream because the stadium is too big and outmoded.

“Is it a longshot? Yes, we understand that,” said William Thomson, Rose Bowl board member. “But it’s enough of an opportunity.”

NFL owners in 1999 rejected stadiums in Carson and Hollywood Park, as well as a revived Los Angeles Coliseum, and awarded an expansion franchise to Houston. Houston billionaire Bob McNair bid $700 million and a new $310-million stadium.

Thomson said NFL officials have told city officials that a renovated, state-of-the-art stadium would be capable of drawing an NFL team.

Pasadena, according to the plan, would not put up public money but would seek private financing for the team and renovations.

“If the NFL is coming here, it won’t be through taxpayer funding,” Pasadena Councilman Paul Little said.

Neighbors of the Rose Bowl aren’t expected to allow the NFL in their backyard without a fight. Norman Parker, president of the Linda Vista Annandale Assn., a residents group on the Arroyo’s west rim, said the city cannot insulate the neighborhoods from air and noise pollution that 1 million fans would bring each year.

While a new management team at the Rose Bowl has won over many neighbors, Lee Zanteson, an officer of the residents association, said any move to bring an NFL team would face a legal challenge.

With one of the Rose Bowl’s major tenants, the L.A. Galaxy soccer team, departing for a new 20,000-seat stadium in Carson next year, Dunn said, the Rose Bowl cannot afford inaction.

“What happens if a new stadium is built in L.A.?” Dunn asked. “We could lose the UCLA football to that stadium. And the concerts and other events would follow.”

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn told The Times recently after talks with the NFL that he is open to supporting potential sites in the city other than the Coliseum.

“As long as the other stadium is the Coliseum, we believe UCLA won’t go there,” Dunn said. “But any other stadium and all bets are off.”

UCLA’s contract with the Rose Bowl expires at the end of the 2003 season. Signing the Bruins to a long-term contract is Dunn’s top priority.

“I don’t want the Rose Bowl to become the Orange Bowl,” Gordo said, referring to the Miami stadium. He noted that even the Orange Bowl games these days are played in Miami’s modern Pro Player Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Pasadena has invested $32 million over the last 10 years in improvements at the Rose Bowl. The adjoining city-owned Brookside golf course pays the bond debt for that renovation, which is about $2.5 million a year.

The Rose Bowl Operating Co., a nonprofit group that operates the stadium and golf course, had a net profit of $1.3 million in the last fiscal year, which ended June 30.

In 2001, there were 22 events at the Rose Bowl. This year, there may be close to 30. However, the departure of the Galaxy will mean the loss of about $500,000 in revenue, stadium official say.

To offset that loss, the business plan calls for more international soccer games and music events. The council on Monday approved a deal for another international soccer game and Wango Tango, a one-day June concert sponsored by radio station KIIS-FM.