1. Rose Bowl Stadium
    Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Ted Eytan
  2. Rose Bowl Flea Market
    Photograph: Michael Juliano
  3. Brookside Park aerial view
    Photograph: trekandshoot / Shutterstock.com
  4. Rose Bowl
    Photograph: Michael Juliano

Review

Rose Bowl Stadium

4 out of 5 stars
  • Things to do | Event spaces
  • Pasadena
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended
Michael Juliano
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Time Out says

Tucked into the Arroyo Seco, surrounded by lush hillsides and backed by scenic mountains, this 90,000-seat stadium has been used for World Cup finals, Super Bowls and massive summer tours like U2, BTS, Beyoncé and Oasis. The Pasadena icon is also—for now—home to the UCLA Bruins football team as well as the annual New Year’s Day Rose Bowl Game, which is preceded by the floral-filled Rose Parade. If you’re not interested in any of that big-ticket programming, swing by on the second Sunday of the month for its legendary flea market.

The stadium opened in 1922, and though there have been multiple rounds of renovations over the years, regulars lament the cramped sideline seats and backless benches behind the end zones. And though the outward-facing views from higher vantage points are picturesque, the bowl-style layout and spartan concession areas just don’t measure up to L.A.’s more modern stadiums. You might be willing to forgive most of those shortcomings, but there’s no sugarcoating the Rose Bowl’s notoriously terrible access: Driving and parking are a nightmare, and while the pre-event shuttle from the Parsons parking lot in Old Pasadena is relatively convenient, taking it back at the end of the night means standing in a long, long line and getting stuck in the very same traffic as cars. Our advice? If you still have the stamina, walk from the stadium back to the off-site parking; it’s a mile-and-a-half, mostly uphill walk, but it’ll still be the quickest and least aggravating option.

Details

Address
1001 Rose Bowl Dr
Pasadena
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What’s on

Rose Bowl Flea Market

Perhaps the Los Angeles area’s most iconic flea market, this event around the exterior of the Rose Bowl is staggeringly colossal—but what else would you expect from a 90,000-seat stadium? The sheer size and scale of this flea market means that it encompasses multitudes: new and old, hand-crafted and salvaged, the cheap and the costly. On the second Sunday of each month, an odd mix of vendors populates the loop around the stadium: for every eye-catching artwork, there’s a ratty $5 T-shirt, and for each elegant craft there’s a competing “as seen on TV” demo. But you may have more luck in the rows and rows of old furniture, albums and vintage clothes and accessories that fill the adjacent parking lot. There are plenty of duds, to be sure, but come out early enough and you may go home with that perfect purchase. This destination flea market attracts bargain hunters, collectors, and antique aficionados from all over the county, so the organizers have instituted an extensive tiered entry/admission system, allowing professional and dedicated shoppers early access at a premium.
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