News of the Arroyo
Title: | Rose Bowl sparkles again |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-06-06 |
Summary: | June 6, 2003 - There will be fireworks at the Rose Bowl again this year for the annual Independence Day celebration. |
Author: | Editorial |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | Among the other fine things we in the West San Gabriel Valley take for granted about the presence of the Rose Bowl in our midst is its annual Independence Day fireworks show. For decades it has been the best and the brightest of all the rockets glaring red late each Fourth of July. But the brilliant fireworks don\'t just happen by themselves. One way or another, the ticket-holding spectators inside the stadium pay the bills for the organization that buys the pyrotechnics and sets them off; we freeloaders on the banks of the Arroyo Seco and indeed all around the region who enjoy their snap, crackle and pop high in the sky do so on their dime. In the past, other organizations including at one point the city of Pasadena and the Star- News have shouldered the organizational burden. For the last eight years, the prime mover has been the Galaxy soccer team, now ensconced in the far less green pastures of Carson, which sponsored the fireworks each year after one of its games. Until just the other day, it wasn\'t at all clear that there would be a fireworks show in the Rose Bowl this year. It\'s an expensive undertaking, not least because of the heavy holiday pay for the police officers and others who must staff the crowds. But no one wanted the show to miss a year. It\'s a grand Pasadena tradition. It\'s especially a gift to the hundreds of East Arroyo and Linda Vista neighborhood homeowners who bear the brunt of traffic and noise for other Rose Bowl activities throughout the year. With just a month to go before Independence Day, sponsors have been found, including giant radio conglomerate Clear Channel. The fireworks company Pyro Spectaculars is getting involved on the front end. And now the Rose Bowl fireworks show promises not only to be as good as ever it\'s going to be much better. As in about double the fireworks, with a grand half-hour-long show. And with a great carnival on the stadium floor and food fest on the concourse scheduled for those non-cheapskates among us. It\'s an exciting time for the stadium. Embroiled in a fight to bring professional football to Pasadena, the Rose Bowl Operating Co. and its managers are big news all around the nation. Can a historic stadium really be kept historic and still upgraded to suit 21st-century needs? Can the costs and benefits, political and social as well as economic, be properly weighed? Those are the big questions it is so exciting to see the Rose Bowl, always a player, grapple with. See you there on the Fourth. |
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