AmericaFest at the Rose Bowl has been squashed due to budget reasons, but this MLS match certainly isn’t a bad subsitute. Thanks to a bit of inclement weather at the start of the season, the L.A. Galaxy and LAFC will now play in Pasadena on July 4, with a post-match fireworks show shot off from the adjacent Brookside Golf Course.
With the match slated to start at 7:30pm, expect the fireworks to commence well after 9pm, if not closer to 10pm. Since tickets are sold out, you’ll only be able watch from the areas around—but not in—the Arroyo. This is where things get a little tricky this year: Traditionally most people flock toward the Colorado Street Bridge and the neighborhoods west of the 210, as well as parking garage rooftops in Old Pasadena for a somewhat distant show. But AmericaFest only had patchy attendance in part of the stadium, whereas the hometown soccer rivalry will bring 70,000-plus ticketholders to the stadium and countless others in nearby bars—in other words, expect things to be more crowded than normal.