Rose Bowl Stadium
There are many ways to enjoy New Year's Day, but by far the best way to do so is to watch the Rose Bowl, or better yet, personally be there. Taking place at the Rose Bowl Stadium, the Rose Bowl is an annual postseason tradition that started in 1902, more than qualifying it for the epithet "The Granddaddy of Them All", the oldest and most storied of the college bowl games, often making it hard to find Rose Bowl parking on New Year's Day. The Rose Bowl Stadium proper was constructed in 1921-22, first in a horseshoe shape before being made whole by a renovation that completed the South end of the arena. Like the ancient amphitheatre, the Rose Bowl is a place of drama and triumph, with each team battling the other in the earliest beginnings of the new year. For a long time, the Rose Bowl Stadium was the largest football stadium in the US, and still ranks at #7, with a capacity wavering between 91-94,000 screaming fans. In addition to the annual postseason match, the stadium also hosts the UCLA Bruins football team, and also hosted FIFA and Summer Olympics events in the past. Nevertheless, the annual game in January is what makes this arena so venerable, though it makes it difficult to find Rose Bowl parking if one shows up late. If you plan ahead and use ParkWhiz, you don't have to be circling around a parking lot on New Year's day.
The game itself originated as a way to finance the annual Tournament of Roses Parade, which occurs on the same day. The parade first happened in 1890, with the president of the Tournament of Roses Association paying to import the Michigan Wolverines to play against the Stanford Cardinal in 1902. The parade features floats, bands, equestrian performances and more. The inaugural match was played at Tournament Park, as the Rose Bowl Stadium was not constructed until 1922. Since then, the Rose Bowl has always occurred in the Rose Bowl Stadium with the exception of the 1942 game, which took place in Durham, North Carolina out of an abundance of caution following the Pearl Harbor attack the previous December. Due to the arrangement of the Bowl Championship Series, the Rose Bowl also functioned as the BCS National Championship Game in 2002 and 2006. Under this scheme, the team selection for the Rose Bowl Game is comprised of the champions of the Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences, with the exception of those who are going to the national championship. This tournament scheme ends on Jan. 6, 2014, after which the Rose Bowl Game will function as a semifinal game of the new College Football Playoff series once every three seasons. No matter what the arrangement, the Rose Bowl Game is prestigious, and along with New Year's traffic, the whole area makes it hard to find parking. If you don't want to show up halfway through the game, it is best to make use of ParkWhiz and book a Rose Bowl or UCLA parking spot long before the game.
ParkWhiz is as easy as watching the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, except with no plant allergies. All you have to do is log onto the ParkWhiz website, find the game or event that you need Rose Bowl parking for and book your Rose Bowl spot on ParkWhiz. When you bring your ParkWhiz parking pass with you, you won't have to stop and smell the roses - you can get right to the game.