A Novel Proposal

The Pasadena Thorns - A Novel Proposal

Previous Unpopular Proposals
Remember when L.A. was courted with teams in Irwindale, Carson, or Downtown... what happened? All of these proposals were way too expensive & vastly unrealistic. Each of these proposals were overly complex and tagged with preposterous prices.

The crux of these propositions was that L.A. residents were expected to pick up a huge tab so that the team owners reaps the benefits. L.A. residents have seen this before and don't want to spend tax money for a new stadium or major stadium renovations (such as the latest coliseum plan). Neither do Angelinos want the Rams or Raiders back, still feeling 'burned' from those teams abandoning their city. In contrast, The Pasadena Thorns are a fresh start without the stigma of Los Angeles' bad experiences.

A New Winning Proposal.

Very low start-up costs. No need to build an expensive stadium or training facilities

Instant fan base. Fans will feel connected to the Thorns, just as west coast football fans feel connected to the entire Pac 10 and the Rose Bowl Championship game. The Thorns will be synonamous with the NFL, Pasadena and the Entire Pac-10 conference. The nexus of several well-known existing identities is the best was to guarantee an instant and profitable fan base

The Thorns are a valuable, lucrative status symbol for the city of Pasadena. The revenue draw to a city the size of Pasadena would be tremendous. Beyond financial benefits to the Rose Bowl. Pasadena would greatly benefit fiscally from popular NFL games, translating into lower local taxes.

The Thorns get a portion of their market identity from the Pac-10.

The City of Pasadena is small in area, but the region is huge and draws from an equally huge population surrounding the city. The Thorns are solely that of Pasadena, but enjoyed and supported by the surrounding millions.

Partial Municipal Ownership (See Chapter 6): It is important to garner local support and that the city of Pasadena has a financial interest in the success of the Thorns. Look at the Green Bay Packers formula of municipal ownership to instill local pride. One possibility is that a percentage be bonded to the city. The Thorns will be regarded as a part of the city of Pasadena. Dividends from the Pasadena ownership benefit two community funds discussed in next section.

Southern California residents very much want an NFL franchise, but they want it on their own terms. No large expense. No big promises. Expectations that are achievable... A team of fiscal responisibility.

The 1984 Olympics Model
Much like today, there was little political energy necessary to make major infrastructure investments in order to bring the 1984 Olympics to Los Angeles. The solution was to utilize existing resources, thereby keeping costs down. Keep construction to a minimum , re-use & refurbish what we already have. Consquently, contrary to many previous Olympic Games, the 1984 Olympics garnered large profits and is still the model for modern olympics games.

The Thorns follow the 1984 Olympics model. Keep costs down and putting forward superior entertainment.. We have a popular, beloved stadium and local training facilities. The Thorns can utilize the facilities for a very low start-up cost.

The Rose Bowl is currently a profitable enterprise. The L.A. Times reports that The Rose Bowl Operating Co., a nonprofit organization that operates the stadium and golf course, had a net profit of $1.3 million in the last fiscal year.

The Thorns can be created, without the incredible taxpayer expense and fit within their means. Pasadena has a great stadium and the southland has the fan base to support the team.

Sharing the bowl with UCLA, each team trades a weekend game. One saturday UCLA plays the bowl, the next week the Thorns play Sunday. Thus creating weekly, profitable football at the Rose Bowl. No other events during the year need be scheduled to cover Rose Bowl operating costs.

Coliseum or Rose Bowl: A Comparison
There are 2 stadiums in southern California large enough to comfortably accommodate an NFL team: The Rose Bowl and The Coliseum. Although there have been many ideas floated about building a state-of-the-art football stadium in the southland, few taxpayers to put up the money to build a new stadium. The reality is that any new NFL team would call either the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum their home.

A. The Coliseum

The Coliseum has no luxury boxes. Plans have been drawn for updating the Coliseum with luxury boxes, but no one wants to pay for it, certainly not taxpayers.

The Coliseum faces east-west. During day games, one team is always playing against the sun. Either the quarterback is throwing into the sun or receivers are catching against the sun. This is NOT the way football was meant to be played!

Surrounded by concrete parking lot.

B. The Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl already has a collection of quality luxury booth seating. Minimal configuration change could produce luxury field box seats, similar to the Hollywood Bowl (see Rose Bowl Concepts).

Rose Bowl faces north-south. A better playing field because no team plays against the setting sun. Many of the stadium seats are shaded by the luxury box seats's shadow.

Surrounded by the beautiful Brookside golf course in the Arroyo Seco. The grounds provide a lush and scenic setting for Tailgators.

Pasadena or Los Angeles?

The Thorns would be an incredibly valuable status symbol for the city of Pasadena. Pasadena could have what Los Angeles has been trying to get for years - its own football team. The Rams and Raiders were transplanted teams from other cities. Los Angeles has never had an original & home-grown football team. The Thorns can ONLY exist in Pasadena.

For Pasadena to acquire an NFL team would be an incredible political victory over the city of L.A. The L.A. city council has been courting the NFL for years, only to be rejected by the NFL and Angelinos in each attempt. The Thorns would add to the prestige of Pasadena.

Barely 10 miles apart, the Rose Bowl draws from the exact same fan base as Los Angeles' Coliseum. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the Coliseum's location would draw more football fans than the Rose Bowl.