Rose Bowl Proposes To Add Mini Golf To Brookside, Local Environment Foundation Opposes Move

The Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC) is considering adding a mini-golf course to Brookside Golf Courses No. 1 and No. 2 but a local environment nonprofit contends the project is not appropriate to the natural character of the Arroyo Seco.

The mini golf is part of efforts to find new revenue streams to support the century-old Rose Bowl stadium, the RBOC said. 

The Arroyo Seco Foundation, a non profit working to preserve the natural habitat of the Arroyo Seco, has vehemently opposed the move saying the proposed mini golf course “is not in conformity with the Arroyo Seco Master plan or the Arroyo Seco Public Lands Ordinance and would be an inappropriate addition to the Arroyo Seco.”

Rose Bowl Operating Company officials were not available for comment at the time of this writing. 

In order for the public to learn more about the potential impact on the local fauna and flora, an informational meeting is scheduled for Feb. 13 in the Mediterranean Room at the Brookside Clubhouse. 

Attendees can also learn how the mini golf course might affect the Brookside Golf Courses in the meeting, according to the RBOC. 

The proposed mini golf course would be located in the Arroyo Seco, a popular recreational area for hiking, biking, and other activities.

“The Arroyo Seco is inarguably Pasadena’s greatest environmental gem. The area that the planners intend to use is part of a streamzone and wildlife corridor, which under natural conditions would have some of the most important habitat and conditions imaginable,” the Arroyo Seco Foundation said in a statement. 

The Foundation had not been notified or consulted at all in the planning stage of the mini golf course, according to their statement. 

To determine the environmental impact of the proposed mini-golf course, RBOC has hired ESA of Pasadena’s South Lake Avenue, a consulting firm. 

Real golf had been facing a downturn in play before the pandemic, but the lockdowns of 2020 led to its resurgence in popularity. Mini golf at Brookside has been considered for several years, and the expansion of the driving range is also being considered. 

But the popularity of mini golf and the crowds it could potentially attract might adversely affect the wildlife of the area, the Arroyo Seco Foundation added. 

“To be successful, which is highly problematic, the mini golf course will have to attract large groups of loud customers with increased traffic, parking and noise impacts. It would require lush lawns that waste vast amounts of water and are not-hospitable to the wildlife, birds and bugs that inhabit the area,” the Arroyo Seco Foundation said. 

The public is encouraged to attend the meeting on Feb. 13 and learn more about the proposal.