Big Moves at the Rose Bowl

by Menelaus on May 5, 2008 4:00 AM PDT Comment 20 comments

Not involving the team, exactly. But, since we've already had a fair bit of discussion about the Rose Bowl, I thought I'd add something related.

As many of you know, the Select-a-Seat program was expanded from Pauley to the Rose Bowl this year. So, many season ticket holders have been invited to the Rose Bowl to do just that. For those who haven't done it, folks are given a window of time and priority number and asked to come to the Rose Bowl. Then, folks are allowed to mill around the Rose Bowl to pick amongst the then available seats that are marked with various cards (divided according to donor level).

In my book, it's just another perfectly good excuse to go to the Rose Bowl. A place, as I've said before, is one of my favorite on Earth. And, I must say, they did a pretty good job of putting this thing together. Everything ran smoothly. And it's a million times better than the old seat selection system, which I honestly never really figured out.

So, whether or not the seats are a bit tight in places, it's was time for me to get a couple extra seats for the lit'l ones in recognition of a program headed in the right direction. A fond farewell to my friends in Section 2-H.

If your interested, I've posted a few more photos after the jump.

GO BRUINS.

It's sorta cool to enter the stadium via one of the tunnels

The new locker room doubles as an orientation room for this program

A beautiful day in Pasadena

Those are my new seats. Yep, there; no, not those; those, right there!

The little girl appreciated the gravity of the moment

The boy; well, not so much

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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The tunnel shot

Very cool. When did you guys get to go out there?

by Nestor on May 3, 2008 2:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This morning

Our slot was at 10 a.m.

by Menelaus on May 3, 2008 6:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What sorts of seats are available?

I've had season seats for about 8 or 9 years now in sec. 21, and I have never upgraded. Obviously I could do better than 21, and would like to for next year. I only have 2 seats, and my selection day/time is tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 AM.

Anyone know what sorts of seats are open at this point?

I'm willing to "donate" to get better seats, but I ain't a BIG spender.

by palafox on May 3, 2008 2:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Seats

It's hard to say what will be left. My slot was at 10 am, and I think they were running people through at about 50 per half hour, so I'd assume there'd be less than when I was there (I got sec. 17 if that's any indication).

I remember thinking the seat selection was somewhat sparse, particularly on the shady (West) side, but there were some decent spots left, and things would "pop up." Let me explain. As folks buy tickets, they send runners out to mark the seats that those folks give up as newly available. So, assuming someone in your slot upgrades this year, perhaps having given more to the university (but not too much more, or they wouldn't be in your slot), some seats might "appear" midway through your time slot.

That's what happened to us. We selected 4 seats in one spot, and just moments before I paid, I noticed that 4 slightly better ones had appeared.

The great thing about this program is that it let's folks self-select per their preferences. I have a friend, for instance, that loves the last row on the 50. Those were available, and he go them, when others maybe wouldn't want to be up so high.

Good luck.

by Menelaus on May 3, 2008 6:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i was there saturday at 3am

it was fun. I got section 17, top row, right under the press box. No sun for me this year!!

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 5, 2008 7:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

make that 3pm.

duh!!!

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 5, 2008 7:56 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey Silver

Quick question--when you're on that side, may I ask how much your tickets are? I am in the last year of the young alum buy1-get1 program and am looking to significantly move up, but my current seats are pretty darn good for the price (right in section 2, right next to the tunnel, aisle.

Just curious, and if this is inappropriate, feel free to just ignore =).

The seats you got--those are my dream seats for next year.

by bruinhopeful on May 5, 2008 9:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

thats fine.

They were $349 each seat, plus bruin bench membership, which is a minimum of $350 per year. There were seats under the overhang, but closer to the north end zone that didn't require the bruin bench membership.

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 5, 2008 9:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great value

For some (hopefully) great football these coming years. Thanks Silver

by bruinhopeful on May 5, 2008 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

They did a great job with the event

Being sent to the locker room and invited to take pictures inside it was an extremely nice touch, as was walking through the tunnels.

Is it me, or does it seem like the athletic department is doing a better job of reaching out to alums and supporters the last couple years?

by ucla84 on May 5, 2008 9:00 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Great time

I upgraded my seats from Section 2-H row 65 to Section 2-H row 19. The new locker room is very nice -- apparently it is the largest locker room in all of D-1 College Football and they are using it as a recruiting tool now.

by ucsbbruinfan on May 5, 2008 11:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Nicely

That's just a couple rows from my old seats. I will miss them. It's a pretty good crowd around there. Enjoy.

by Menelaus on May 5, 2008 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

looking forward to Sept

Yah I had some nice seats before -- was at seats 122/123 - couldn't move over to the right towards the 50 yrd line without becoming a donor. But getting down closer to the field will be a lot of fun. The only down side was I had to switch to two single seats (there are 4 seats inbetween my new ones -- same row) but I'm sure at game time it won't be an issue.

by ucsbbruinfan on May 5, 2008 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm about 3 rows up from there

Friends have told me they're some of the best new non-donor seats available. Love the people in that area--it gets boisterous indeed.

by bruinhopeful on May 5, 2008 3:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

sept

September can't come soon enough. It was a sincere treat to walk out onto the Rose Bowl turf and even once I paid for the new seats I just had to take in the Rose Bowl for a few minutes before I walked out of the tunnel back to my car. I can only imagine what it must be like for our players coming onto that field with 80,000+ fans cheering them on. It's a great thing that we have optimism for our team our coaches and real "progress" potential this fall.

by ucsbbruinfan on May 5, 2008 11:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Staff did a great job

I really enjoyed getting to see the locker room and talk to other fans. The staff did a really great job from the time we got to the gate.

A word of advise to anyone thinking of increasing their donor level:

Because the day you get to pick your seat is basically designated by donor level, raising your donation will not get you near the improvement it would had you done it before this started. When you walk into the stadium all the seats at higher donation levels than you have are leftovers that have been there for days. Because of that I decided to wait until next year to increase my donation. Still, the process is a great idea and I happened to meet all the people buying the seats around me! The only downer was knowing I have to wait until September to go back.

by bruin2k on May 5, 2008 12:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I like it just where I'm at!

I was considering the upgrade, my appointment was at 1pm on Saturday and we've been season ticket holder for close to 17 years. We are in section 17 and have a great view of the field. Once I saw what the new donation price was in the very same area I'm in that made me stay.

Minimum donation went up almost 5 times my price!
It's good to be grandfathered!!

by SlyBruin on May 5, 2008 12:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely

The staff when I was there referred to this as "UCLA's version of Prop. 13." For many long time seat holders, staying put is the right move. I only wish I had tickets from that long ago in Pauley....

by Menelaus on May 5, 2008 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs