Council approves renovation

The Rose Bowl is undergoing its most expensive renovation ever from January 2011 to August 2013.

The $152 million project, which will make considerable changes to the home of UCLA football, will be scheduled around the athletic season to not affect UCLA games or the Rose Bowl game.

Changes include an increase in restrooms and concession stands, as well as 12 widened tunnels at the north and south end zones.

The Pasadena City Council unanimously approved funding and the project for the 88-year-old stadium Monday night.

With the construction, UCLA also agreed to new lease terms on the stadium. UCLA is dropping the remaining 13 years on its contract with the Rose Bowl for a new 30-year lease that will expire at the end of the 2042 football season. Under the new lease, there will also be changes to the revenue plan.

UCLA currently pays the Rose Bowl 8 percent of all regular ticket sales and receives $50 per luxury box ticket. Under the new deal, UCLA will still pay 8 percent, but the Rose Bowl will no longer pay UCLA the $50 per luxury box ticket. Pasadena will manage the sale of premium seats, according to board documents.

UCLA, however, will retain all television revenue after a substantial proportion of the project has been completed, according to board documents. This is a change from the 8 percent it currently pays to the city.

Membership fees for Rose Bowl lounges will be split between Pasadena and UCLA. The university will retain the first $250,000 of revenue, which will increase by 3 percent each year, while the rest will be paid for Pasadena’s debt service.

The financial impact of these changes is unknown and will depend on TV revenue.

Donation levels for season ticket holders will stay the same, said Marc Dellins, UCLA sports information director and associate athletic director.

A priority of the project is to update seating, according to the project’s executive summary, submitted to the Rose Bowl Operating Company’s board. Bowl seating capacity will be reduced by the widening of 12 aisles, but premium seats in the press box will increase from 500 to about 2,500, leading to a slight decrease in the stadium’s 92,000-person capacity. New to the stadium will be an ancillary museum and team store.

As stipulated in the university’s contract with the company, Pasadena will foot the bill entirely, primarily through federal and local bonds, but also through cash and Rose Bowl game income.

The renovation is the first since locker rooms and media spaces were modernized in 2007. It is the first major construction since a $21.5 million project in 1996 to build a video board, scoreboards, new sound system and more.

The Rose Bowl is run by the Rose Bowl Operating Company, an agency of the City of Pasadena. The company has been in close communication with UCLA about all major stadium moves since the Bruins began playing there in 1982.