07.12.18

More documents

Info

Rose Bowl General Manager Darryl Dunn GAME ON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 2011, a group stage doubleheader in 2013 and a semifinal in 2017. The stadium also hosted Brazil vs. Ecuador, Colombia vs. Paraguay, and Mexico vs. Jamaica during the 2016 Copa America Centenario, a North, Central and South American regional soccer tournament. In fact, international soccer is critical for the long-term financial viability of the Rose Bowl, Dunn told Pasadena City Council members at their June 4 meeting. That night, the council unanimously approved a 10-year exclusivity contract with one of Southern California’s two Major League Soccer teams, LA Galaxy, and promoter Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which also produces the music festival Arroyo Seco Weekend, now in its second year at the Rose Bowl and Brookside Golf Course. The Rose Bowl Operating Co. and AEG are currently finalizing the contract’s language and are expected to sign it soon. The other LA-based MLS team, LA Football Club, is a brand-new team with a brand-new stadium, the Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park. “Soccer is an essential piece [of the Rose Bowl’s financial viability],” Dunn told the Pasadena Weekly. “The Rose Bowl is the only venue in the world that has ever been the host of the gold medal match of the Olympics [in 1984] and the final matches of the men’s and women’s World Cups [in 1994 and 1999, respectively]. No one else has done it. Our history is second to none and we have the reputation of being the preeminent soccer venue in America. We want to build on that and strengthen that. Continuing to host high-level international soccer is very important for our future, which is the primary reason why we want to do this deal with AEG.” The Rose Bowl will also likely host men’s and women’s semifinals and finals in soccer once again during the 2028 Olympics, to be hosted by Los Angeles. Dunn said that the RBOC had a handshake agreement with LA’s Olympic bid committee when it was aiming to host the Games in 2024. “We’ve had some discussions [since Paris was awarded 2024 and LA was awarded 2028], and we do anticipate having the same events in 2028, but we need to finalize specifics related to that with the organizing committee,” Dunn said. “We’re cautiously optimistic that that’s going to happen. And certainly, our partnership with AEG is going to do nothing but make us — the Rose Bowl and therefore Pasadena — stronger.” A STRONGER STADIUM Pasadena’s contract with LA Galaxy and AEG stipulates that any soccer match with an expected attendance of 35,000 or more involving either of those two entities within the LA market must be offered to the Rose Bowl. In return, the Rose Bowl will involve AEG in all its soccer bookings. The agreement also allows for a higher license fee structure. Currently, the Rose Bowl earns about $165,000 per soccer match that it hosts; under the new agreement, the stadium will earn anywhere between $250,000 and $400,000 per match. Thirty percent of net revenues will go to AEG/LA Galaxy, excluding admission tax. “We are confident that the minimum we will be able to generate [from special events such as international soccer games under this new agreement] is $300,000 per event,” said Dunn. “This is really an opportunity for the RBOC to give ourselves the best possible 10 PASADENA WEEKLY | <strong>07.12.18</strong> chance to continue to have soccer programming over the next 10 years.” The increased soccer revenue will help offset the declining golf revenue that the RBOC relies on. Golf’s popularity is decreasing nationwide. Jens Weiden, chief revenue officer of the RBOC, told council members that there is a real chance the Rose Bowl could be shut out of the soccer market if the city did not approve this contract. “Over this 10-year span, that could represent millions of dollars in lost revenues for the RBOC,” Weiden said. “This deal will better align ourselves to hopefully book some of this programming. It could be said that outside of American football, our venue is known internationally as a soccer venue more than anything else. For us, soccer has been and will continue to be very important as far as programming and revenue for the RBOC. For a very long time, the Rose Bowl had very little competition in the market. That is changing.” Weiden noted that the United Airlines Memorial Coliseum is currently undergoing a $300 million renovation that will be completed in 2019; the $350 million soccer-specific Banc of California Stadium opened earlier this year; and the $4 billion LA Stadium in Inglewood, which will be the home of the Chargers and the Rams and multiple other events, will open in 2020. “Our landscape when it comes to attracting events, which is our business, has changed and is constantly changing,” he said. “AEG and LA Galaxy have been partners of the Rose Bowl for a very long time. When it comes to promoting a soccer match, you almost always partner with the local MLS team. This is because you need to be able to market and sell tickets, so you need to partner with somebody that has a database of people that buy soccer tickets in market.” LA Galaxy, a founding member of MLS, first played at the Rose Bowl from 1996-2002. “When we set out to renovate the stadium, this is precisely what we had in mind,” said Pasadena Councilman Victor Gordo. “Fortunately, we’re a couple steps ahead of the Inglewood stadium’s opening. That’s going to be the most expensive stadium in the history of this country — of the world, maybe. And they’re going to have to make up that $4 to $5 billion. They are going to be hungry for events, and they’re likely going to try to buy a lot of the business away from other stadiums. If we hadn’t done the work of renovating the stadium and positioning it ahead of time, we’d be in a world of hurt, potentially also losing UCLA. So I’d like to thank Darryl and his staff for having positioned the Rose Bowl in this way and giving us a fighting chance. This is the kind of deal that we need to drive for so that we’re not just responding to the market and trying to compete for very limited business.” At the June 4 council meeting, Nina Chomsky, president of the Linda Vista-Annandale Association, questioned whether this deal represents “displacement creep,” meaning a gradual increase of large events at the Rose Bowl each year that are called “displacement events.” The city council has to approve any event over 15 per year. Dunn said they will reserve two displacement event slots for soccer each year over the 10-year period. “Part of our agreement with AEG is anything over two, no matter what number it will be, would be subject to approvals by the city,” he said. ■ PHOTO: Danny Liao
• LIFE • HOME SALES RECENT HOME SALES IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA “ADVENTURE IS WORTHWHILE."- AESOP BULLETIN BOARD NEWS AND NOTES FROM OUR COMMUNITY TORN IN TWO DAD PRESSURED TO GET DAUGHTER AWAY FROM RAGING MOM P. 13 RESTAURANT REVIEW P. 16 Fried Calamari Foothill 2835 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena (626) 449-2337 info@foothill.co foothill.co Major Cards/Alcohol Served P. 18 dining& nitelife Pasadena Weekly’s Dining Directory is a paid advertisement and is provided as a service to our readers. To advertise in the Dining Directory, call (626) 584-1500. Average price per entree $ UP TO $10 $$ $11–15 directory $$$ $16-25 $$$$ $25+ ALEXANDER’S STEAKHOUSE 111 North Los Robles Ave. Pasadena, (626) 486-1111 alexanderssteakhouse.com $$$$ Alexander’s Steakhouse welcomes you to experience American steakhouse cuisine with an innovative and elegant global inspiration. Our menu features Certified Angus Beef from the Mid-West, corn-fed and dry-aged for 28 days for unparalleled flavor. We serve the finest and most luxurious ingredients available including authentic Japanese wagyu beef. BONNIE B’S SMOKIN BBQ 1280 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, (626) 794-0132 bonniebssmokin.com $$ From Tulsa Oklahoma to Southern Cal. with a touch of New Orleans soul comes Bonnie B’s Bar B Que Heaven. Our 45-yearold traditional recipes are made with love. Try our new sweet pea’s double Fried burger made with our own sauces, soul bowl and homemade peach cobbler. Voted best BBQ & Soul food in Pasadena for our ribs, collard greens and Slim's Mac & Cheese. We are thankful and appreciate Pasadena. CABRERA’S MEXICAN CUISINE 655 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena (626) 795-0230 Cabreras.com $$ Cabrera’s Family Restaurant first opened their doors in 1985 in Arcadia. Cabrera’s Mexican Cuisine operates and owns 3 localities with a professional enterprise that specializes in Mexican-American food and other dishes that are served with a very Mexican style. High Expectations FOOTHILL PAYS HOMAGE TO ITS AMERICAN DINER ROOTS BY MICHAEL SPRAGUE | PHOTOS BY DANNY LIAO The team behind one of San Gabriel Valley’s most iconic diners, Twohey’s, has brought their elevated food stylings to Pasadena at Foothill restaurant. Originally opened as Twohey’s Tavern, it closed and reopened as Foothill, undergoing a complete rebrand to avoid confusion with their 70-year-old sister store and retro diner. While most of the physical references to the former name are no more, I challenge anyone to look out for the few spots where the name still shows up. With menu items like Deviled Eggs ($6) made with bacon bits, mustard, Shaft’s two-year-old bleu cheese, onion rings ($8) and Cobb salad ($15), Foothill doesn’t shy away from paying homage to their Americana diner roots and home on Route 66. Foothill offers a seasonal menu sourced from local farmers markets, as well as a selection of seafood options they boast are always fresh and never frozen. The highpoint of my dining was the catch-of-the-day sea-bass. It was a large portion served with cauliflower florets and risotto. My experience at Foothill was not without some missteps. The bottle of wine my party chose from the menu turned out to be unavailable, on a slow Thursday evening just before the weekend dinner rush. One of my table mates ordered an old fashioned with Balvenie ($22) while at the bar and was told at the last moment they were out of large square ice cubes ideal for the drink. The following day I noticed my credit card had been mischarged. I contacted the manager who explained that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 CAMERON’S SEAFOOD 1978 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena (626) 793-3474 Camerons4fish.com $$ Since 1984, Cameron’s Seafood has been serving its freshest seafood, and has become a landmark in Pasadena. Cameron’s brings the ocean home with their fresh catch being cooked over mesquite wood grills that burn all day long.Enjoy the very best Seafood, Steaks, Salad & Pasta! Voted Best Seafood in Pasadena Weekly for 27 years! Now you can order on-line: camerons4fish.com. CASA CÓRDOBA 2331 Honolulu Ave.Montrose, CA 91020 Casacordoba.com $$$ Casa Cordoba delivers a truly immersive Spanish dining experience! Their creative and inspiring dishes are prepared with the freshest authentic ingredients to make their menu an exciting and unique culinary event! Dine inside in their lovely dining room or al fresco in their beautiful courtyard patio. <strong>07.12.18</strong> | PASADENA WEEKLY 11
Page 1 and 2: 07.12.18 1 PASADENA APPROVES A 10-Y
Page 3 and 4: 07.12.18 | VOLUME 34 | NUMBER 28 op
Page 5 and 6: PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS
Page 7 and 8: • NEWS • PASADENA | ALHAMBRA |
Page 9: PASADENA APPROVES A 10-YEAR SOCCER
Page 13 and 14: HOME SALES RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN
Page 17 and 18: 07.12.18 | PASADENA WEEKLY 17
Page 21 and 22: • ARTS • PHOTO: Courtesy of Sha
Page 35 and 36: Business Directory BUY/SELL/TRADE 3
Page 37 and 38: 07.12.18 PASADENA WEEKLY 35 trustee
Page 39 and 40: 07.12.18 PASADENA WEEKLY 37 person(
Page 41: 07.12.18 | PASADENA WEEKLY 39

07.12.18

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?