Rose Bowl Game Plan for Soccer Turnout Pays Off
They doubled security, threw open tens of thousands more seats, even revved up the Soccer Special, a shuttle bus to carry fans from downtown Los Angeles. And, as the Galaxy settled into its second home game Sunday, officials were crowing that--even with a brawl that erupted at kickoff--the Rose Bowl was amply braced for the onslaught of soccer fans that caught it flat-footed two weeks ago.
“It’s a lot better this time,” said Los Angeles Galaxy spokesman Ron Acosta, “but I think it has just been an education process. Nobody expected soccer to be this popular, and I think people really understand now that this is not something that only 12,000 people or so are going to show up for. This is something the community has really embraced.”
Acosta said the crowd for Sunday’s game against the San Jose Clash numbered 40,347--smaller than the crowd that packed the April 13 opener, but larger by far than the modest predictions made before Major League Soccer had its Southern California debut.
Carloads of fans began pulling into Pasadena at 11 a.m.--4 1/2 hours before game time. Scores of last-minute ticket buyers were lined up at the turnstiles two hours before the windows opened. The Rose Bowl bleachers, while not as packed as they were on opening day, were nonetheless burgeoning, both with spectators and with police. Rose Bowl officials said Pasadena police deployed about 35% more officers for this game--though they would not give the number--and stadium security supervisors said their patrols had been doubled to 500 private guards.
The personnel came in handy: Within 10 minutes of the national anthem, a brawl broke out in the end zone bleachers, ignited by the arrest of two drunken fans who, according to police, had been throwing debris onto the field. When a third man was ejected from the same section for allegedly harassing other spectators, a half-dozen nearby fans burst into freewheeling violence, throwing punches at bystanders and pelting police with bottles and fistfuls of ice.
The scene was broken up within minutes, as a score of police officers swarmed the bleachers in riot gear. One man landed a punch on a Pasadena police sergeant, and ended up being carried--bloodied, shirtless and doused with pepper spray--from the stadium, where he was placed under arrest for assaulting a police officer.
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By the end of the evening, police had made between 15 and 20 arrests on misdemeanor charges of public drunkenness, fighting and disturbing the peace, said Pasadena police Lt. Keith Jones.
“Otherwise, everything’s perfect,” said Sgt. Jim Shear, who took it on the chin from the brawling fan.
And compared to the April 13 game, it was.
Last time, the gridlock became so bad that authorities were forced to shut down a freeway offramp. This time, the traffic flow was relatively smooth, thanks to planning by the city of Pasadena and the California Highway Patrol, and an MTA shuttle bus that allowed fans to park at downtown’s Union Station and catch a ride to the bowl every 15 minutes from Fiesta Broadway being staged downtown.
Last time, homeowners around the bowl complained of blocked driveways and traffic jams on their shady residential streets as carloads of fans searched for a place to park. This time, bowl officials planned for a crowd comparable to, say, a UCLA home game, opening up parking for 88,000 fans and issuing invitations through the Spanish- and English-language media for fans to come early and tailgate.
Last time, lines at the turnstile and will-call windows inched for hours as an unprecedented 30,000 fans showed up to buy last-minute tickets at the gate. This time, bowl officials were ready, with more ticket-takers and an invitation for fans to be in their seats an hour before game time.
“Last time, it was so crowded during the game, you couldn’t even go down and get snacks,” said Letisha Cabrera, 22, of El Monte. This time, she and her friends came early--and came prepared. They brought a portable grill, fixings for fajitas and a cooler of Mexican beer.
“If it works out well, which it seems to, we’re going to do this every game,” said her fellow fan Andrew Cooper, 22, of Arcadia, hoisting an ice-cold Tecate outside the stadium.
Bowl neighbors, likewise, were satisfied with the choreography of Sunday’s event.
“So far, so good,” said James Behm, who lives east of the Rose Bowl. “It’s much quieter than last game. I’ve only had one beer can thrown out on my sidewalk, and that was by a local, so I can’t complain.”
Until this month, when Major League Soccer made its debut at the bowl, stadium and Galaxy officials were predicting crowds of about 15,000 per game. The modest figure was significant because the city of Pasadena, which owns the Rose Bowl, has an ordinance limiting the bowl to a dozen so-called “major” events per year, defined as events with an audience of 20,000 or more.
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Galaxy officials said that, in the days prior to the opening game, it had become clear that the crowd might be bigger than expected. But because of the buying patterns of Galaxy fans, they said, the crowd was tough to predict. Although many fans bought season tickets or tickets through TicketMaster, which is easy to monitor, a substantial number--particularly from Latino immigrant neighborhoods--opted to buy their tickets on game day at the gate. Another large group bought via a voucher system at neighborhood markets and stores, allowing fans to buy coupons redeemable for tickets at the will-call window on any game day.
Consequently, stadium officials weren’t sure--either for that game or for Sunday’s--how many fans to expect until the day of the contest, so they prepared this time by expecting the biggest crowd imaginable.
“We’re going to assume that the Galaxy and professional soccer is here to stay,” said Pasadena Police Cmdr. Mary Schander. “From now on, whatever size crowd we get, we’re going to be prepared for them.”
* GALAXY VICTORY
Los Angeles won its third game, beating San Jose, 2-1. C1
