Get Ready for Football Season with a Tour of the Rose Bowl!
The summer months can be hard on football fans. Once the NFL Combine and Draft finish in late spring you just have to wait patiently for teams to start training camp. With not nearly as many offseason activities, summer is even harder for fans of the college game.
Luckily, football season is just around the corner, and now is the perfect time to get excited about it by touring one of the most historic football stadiums in the country: The Rose Bowl!
Tour Information
There are two types of tours available at the Rose Bowl, public and group tours. Public tours are offered 10:30am and 12:30pm Thursday through Sunday. Group tours are offered on a similar schedule but must be booked in advance.
Even though you can normally count on tours happening Thursday through Sunday, there are some blackout dates when no tours are available. So be sure to check the Rose Bowl’s website before planning your trip !
All of the tours leave from Gate B, and last about 1 and a half hours.
Guided tour tickets are $17.50 for adults and $14.50 for kids, seniors, students and members of the military. Group tours have separate pricing options.
History of the Rose Bowl
In 1890 members of the Pasadena Valley Hunt Club created the Tournament of Roses as a New Year’s Day festival.
In the early days, the celebration featured a series of competitions including ring spearing, tug of war, and foot races. Later, the games would grow to include ostrich and chariot races.
The name Tournament of Roses came from the fact that horses used in some of the competitions were decorated with flowers!
The Festival was originally held in Tournament Park in Pasadena and that’s where the The first Rose Bowl Football Game was held (a Michigan victory over Stanford). As the popularity of the Tournament of Roses and Rose Bowl Game became more popular, the need for a larger viewing area was needed, prompting the construction of the Rose Bowl Stadium in 1922. The first game held in the Stadium was a 14-2 USC victory over Penn State in 1923.
Over the years, the game and stadium have become an iconic part of the college football landscape. The Rose Bowl Game has even earned the nickname “granddaddy of them all” ,a reference to its status as the oldest bowl game in the country. The 2014 marked the 100th playing of the Rose Bowl game.
Details
Where: The Rose Bowl 1001 Rose Bowl Drive,Pasadena, California, U.S. 91103
When: Twice Daily Thursday through Sunday, separate times for group tours
Admission: $17.50 adults $14.50 (children, seniors, students and military personell) Separate ticket prices for group tours.
Photo Attribution: By Flickr user Xurble (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel Normandie
This historical hotel, first built in 1926, has been restored to reflect its roots of having a sleek and comforting design. Located within the Wilshire District, the Normandie is centrally located in Los Angeles and is surrounded by great dining, shopping and attractions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Fox and MGM’s studios. 605 South Normandie Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90005 213-388-8138
