Watch CBS News

Pasadena Residents Divided Over Prospect Of Annual Music Festival At Rose Bowl

PASADENA (CBSLA.com) — Residents of Pasadena are divided over the prospect of the Rose Bowl hosting an annual music festival.

More than half a dozen concerts took place at the Rose Bowl in the summer of 2014, including Jay-Z, Beyonce, Eminem and others. Among the less-desirable effects those concerts presented for residents who live near the world famous stadium was traffic.

One resident says he had to endure 45 minutes worth of detours just trying to get home during those events.

"Off Colorado (Boulevard), they made you go into town, (in the) wrong direction," resident Marshall Cates recalled. "When I came back on Walnut, they made you go on the freeway, (in the) wrong direction. When I get off on Seco, they made me go east instead of west. That was irritating."

A number of locals say they are concerned of a repeat of these types of issues should the Rose Bowl host an annual two-to-three day music festival.

The Rose Bowl Operating Co. tapped AEG, the owners of Staples Center and operator of the Coachella festival, to run an event there.

"It's our hope a music festival will bring in $2-$3 million," Rose Bowl Operating Co.'s Victor Gordo said.

The stadium's operators say that amount is about the same in revenue as all of the concerts from last summer brought in together. They all say that while AEG operates Coachella, this concert would be different.

One such difference would be camping. Large numbers of attendees camp out at Coachella, and operators say that would not be the case at the Rose Bowl.

Some residents, meanwhile, are more on board with the idea of hosting the concert.

"We had a lot of fun," resident Jack Reynolds said of the Summer concerts in 2014. "(We) had people over, camped out on the lawn, listening to the concerts."

Other residents state their primary concerns to be issues such as the trash left over after such an event.

"As long as the city comes and picks up the trash, it would be fine with me," resident Cheryl Cates said.

The Rose Bowl anticipates reaching an agreement by the end of the year, which would put the venue on pace to host the event by next summer.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.