Rose Bowl officials are “squeezed" by a $37.6M funding gap and may seek a $28.6M loan and put off $14.3M in work "in order to complete the stadium's renovation,” according to Brenda Gazzar of the PASADENA STAR-NEWS. The $28.6M, termed a "bridge loan" by officials, “may be needed to complete the project, which was initially budgeted" at $152M but now is "expected to cost nearly" $177M. The stadium would “pay back the loan interest only for up to four years” and officials said that the principal “would be repaid over the remaining term of the loan.” As part of its plan to mostly complete renovation in three years and work within an established budget, stadium officials “are proposing to eliminate or put off some planned work.” Among the items under consideration are “the widening of four tunnels, the upgrade of some concession stands, the building of bathrooms on the north side of the stadium and three new entry gates.” Rose Bowl CEO & GM Darryl Dunn said that the Rose Bowl Operating Co. board is “in talks with stadium tenants UCLA and the Tournament of Roses about its strategy, which would have to be approved by the Rose Bowl Operating Co. board and the City Council by the end of the month.” In addition to possibly reducing the project's scope, stadium officials are "counting on" $4M in '14 BCS Championship revenues, $400,000 in added bond interest on existing proceeds and nearly $19M in "private philanthropic donations through Legacy Connections” (PASADENA STAR-NEWS, 7/17). In L.A., Adolfo Flores reported Rose Bowl officials are "also looking at extending the project a year past the original Jan. 1, 2014 deadline." Crews have already "installed new electronic signboards and made extensive progress in building new luxury seating and an expanded press box." Officials said that they need to "quickly define the work to be done in the next phase of construction and to secure a loan by October" (LATIMES.com, 7/16).
