A Year Into the Job, Rose Bowl Manager Oversees Transformational Fourth of July at the Stadium

Three days after his first year anniversary of helming the Rose Bowl Operating Company, General Manager and CEO Jens Weiden presided over a turnaround Fourth of July at the Rose Bowl.

The Rose Bowl was transformed from being the host of the traditional AmericaFest fireworks show for a half-filled stadium and to the tune of $500,000 in losses into becoming ground zero for a Major League Soccer match that drew in a frenzied crowd of 82,110, smashed MLS attendance records, and likely was a significant financial boon.

The evening was capped off by its own fireworks show.

Few neighbors complained. Police made just one arrest.

Weiden was named General Manager and CEO in late May last year,  replacing longtime predecessor Darryl Dunn and bringing fresh perspective to the 100-year stadium. He reported to work in the position on July 1, 2022.

With Weiden at the helm, the stadium, which was then slowly coming out of the pandemic, has had a busy year. The Rose Bowl Operating Company’s fiscal position has also improved.

“We’re back to as busy as we’ve ever been when it comes to large-scale events and then some of our smaller-scale community events have come back. So it’s been a really fun year to get back to the business of events, which is what we do here,” Weiden said.

When he assumed the post a year ago, financial projections were not good. 

At that time, the management was projecting that over the next five years, they would face millions in lost revenue and need the city to step in and cover bond debt and other expenses of the stadium.

But under Weiden’s leadership, the Rose Bowl Operating Company, known as the RBOC,  has shown progress towards turning this around and has found new ways to thrive. 

Additional displacement events, the UCLA football moving to the Big 10, and the success of its music festivals have helped in improving RBOC’s fiscal position.

Weiden said the improved outlook will help attain RBOC’s goal to have a balanced annual operating budget and to generate reinvest in the stadium.

“The stadium is owned by the people of Pasadena. It’s a hundred years old, it’s beautiful, it’s as vibrant as it’s ever been, but it needs continual investment just like a hundred year old home. We need to continue to invest in it so that it stays vibrant, stays busy, and stays world-class.”

But while it needs improvements, Weiden believes the Rose Bowl stadium still stands out among other venues given the stadium’s setting and its history and tradition.

For his second year, Weiden said he will work towards making sure that RBOC’s events will be successful.

“The more successful the music festival is, the more money we make, the more successful UCLA is, the more money we make and the sooner we can get to a point where we can invest dollars back in the building and in the Central Arroyo to make those events even more successful.”

“My goal is to try and strengthen the health of our tenants that are here, the Tournament of Roses, UCLA, Golden Voice with our festivals, even our flea market, which has never been in a better spot.”

Weiden is welcoming his second year in office said he hopes it will be one of the busiest years in RBOC’s history.