Rose Bowl Stadium

Looking for section numbers and the best seats by level? See the Rose Bowl Stadium Seating Chart.

Your Rose Bowl Seat Decision, Fast

At Rose Bowl Stadium, your row matters more than your section. The stadium is one shallow tier with no upper deck, so the lowest rows sit nearly at field level and miss what happens across the field. For football, the sweet spot is the 20s through the 40s in row number, inside the 20-yard lines. Seat-view guides single out east sections 3–6 and west sections 17–20 at that height.

Then pick your sideline by the sun. The west side, sections in the high teens, slips into shadow as the afternoon goes on. The east side, the single-digit sections, bakes from early afternoon until sunset. The stadium holds about 89,702 people, and with no second deck overhead, nothing above you blocks the view.

Sections 1–28, L and H Halves, and Lettered Rows

The seating is a single continuous oval around the field. Three rules make any ticket easy to read:

• Sections 1 to 28 circle the bowl. The two sidelines are made up of sections from about 1 to 8 and about 15 to 22, and the rest wrap the end zones.
• A center aisle splits each section into L and H halves, for low and high seat numbers. Facing the field, L is on the left and H on the right, so 18L and 18H sit side by side but are separate blocks.
• Rows begin with letters. The front rows count down from K to A, and then numbered rows run from 1 up to 77.

The west sideline faces the Terry Donahue Pavilion, home of the press box and luxury suites. The home team's bench has typically been placed below sections 16L to 21L. Sideline seats are mostly individual chairs with backs; the end zones lean toward benches, worth knowing for a long day.

Seats for Football, Concerts and Soccer

College football

The UCLA Bruins have played home games here since 1982, and the Rose Bowl Game has been held here every year since 1923. Height is your friend in a shallow bowl. Below about row 10, everyone standing on the sideline, from players to coaches, gets in your way. Between rows 20 and 40 on either sideline, you see formations, the line of scrimmage and the far side clearly. Sit west if you want shade and the home bench in front of you; sit east if you can take the sun and want a straight view across to the pavilion.

Stadium concerts

Most tours put the stage at one end, which makes the far end zone the most distant seating in the building. Middle rows of the side sections near the stage give you a far better angle than a deep end-zone seat that sells for about the same. Because the field is level, a floor ticket only a handful of rows back may show you less than a low seat in an adjacent side section.

Soccer

The stadium has a long international soccer history, including World Cup finals. For a match, the same logic as football applies: sideline seats in the middle rows give the clearest view of the shape of play.

Rows and Spots to Avoid

• Lettered rows K through A for football. They feel close but sit too low for a clear view of the whole field.
• Upper rows on the east side at a day game. Full sun all afternoon, with no shade arriving until the sun sets.
• End zones in the afternoon. They get direct sun nearly all day.
• End-zone benches with no backrest if you plan a full day of tailgating plus four quarters.

September heat is real here; UCLA lists cooling tents and water stations on its gameday page. On the east side, wear a hat and sunscreen. On the west side at night, carry a jacket, since the canyon gets chilly after dark. The upper rows on any side take in the entire bowl and the hills around it.

Getting to the Arroyo Seco

Pasadena's Arroyo Seco, a wide canyon on the west edge of the city, surrounds the stadium, and on event days its golf course and park grounds turn into parking. It is several miles from the nearest rail station and surrounded by neighborhoods, so plan your route. Here is how it worked for UCLA home games in 2025:

• Park on site: lots on the golf course, the ball fields and nearby areas open roughly six hours ahead, and a prepaid pass is usually cheaper than a gate purchase.
• Shuttle from Old Pasadena: parking at the Parsons lot comes with a ride to the stadium.
• Ride Metro: Memorial Park Station is the closest stop, roughly 2.4 miles away on foot, or you can add a shuttle pass.
• Skip rideshare: drivers cannot drop off or pick up at the stadium on UCLA game days, so connect through the Old Pasadena shuttle.

Expect the lots to shut roughly an hour and a half after the game ends. Concerts and the Rose Bowl Game run their own logistics, so check the event page and the UCLA gameday information for current details.

Clear Bags, Gates and Tailgating Rules

UCLA's 2025 rules call for transparent bags only: either a clear bag up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches or a gallon-size freezer bag, along with a clutch roughly 4.5 x 6.5 inches. Leave backpacks, mesh and tinted bags at home. Doors open an hour and a half ahead of kickoff, and there is no re-entry.

The parking lots are half the fun on game day. Under UCLA's rules, tailgates may start around six hours out and must wrap up at kickoff; a 10-by-10 tent goes at the front or rear of your car, and charcoal is fine anywhere except the RV lot. No glass, no amplified music. Policies vary by event and year, so confirm the latest rules before you go. Reserved Seat orders include guaranteed entry.

The same lots host the long-running Rose Bowl Flea Market, more than five decades old, on the second Sunday of most months.

Background: Horseshoe to Landmark

Architect Myron Hunt drew a horseshoe with an open south end, which was enclosed in 1928. Attendance peaked at 106,869 for the Rose Bowl Game in 1973; capacity has since been trimmed to about 89,702. The City of Pasadena owns the stadium, and the Rose Bowl Operating Company runs it.

Its non-college résumé includes Olympic track cycling in 1932 and Olympic soccer in 1984, five Super Bowls between 1977 and 1993, and two World Cup finals: the men's in 1994 and the women's in 1999. Landmark status came in 1987, and a 2011–2016 renovation added premium seating and new facilities. Olympic soccer knockout matches are scheduled here in 2028.

One open question concerns the main tenant. UCLA wants to shift its home schedule to SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area, and Pasadena went to court to enforce a lease that lasts until 2043. In mid-2026 the school confirmed it would stay in Pasadena for the 2026 season; check later schedules before you plan a trip.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Rose Bowl (stadium)
• UCLA Athletics: Gameday information
• Athletic Business: Lawsuit delays UCLA football's stadium move
• TickPick: Rose Bowl seating chart
• Shaded Seats: Rose Bowl shade guide
• RateYourSeats: Rose Bowl Stadium seating
• Pasadena Now: Rose Bowl Flea Market
• Rose Bowl Stadium