Rose Bowl to add ‘Air and Style’ next year

By SHEL SEGAL
The February weather for the Rose Bowl is looking quite wintry as the Air & Style sports, arts and music event will be coming to Pasadena four months from now, according to a published report.
That announcement was made by Olympic gold medalist and professional snowboarder Shaun White on Friday.
This will be the first time the event will be held in the U.S. as it started in Europe in 1993.
“Air & Style will feature a 16-story ramp covered in man-made snow for the skiing and snowboarding competition. There will also be a skateboarding area, food trucks, local artists, fashion, three music stages – at which White promised his own band Bad Things will make an appearance – and a family area where children can learn to ski, snowboard and skateboard,” the report said
White, who purchased a majority share of the event this year, said he is excited to be holding the event at the Rose Bowl. He added with music, sports and food there will be something for everyone.
The Rose Bowl event will be the third and final event of the tour, after Beijing and Austria.
White said he wants to involve locals and even talked about donating the snowboard, ski and skateboard ramps to area schools afterward.
Plus, he added, it will bring rare snow to Southern California.
This has been a busy year for the stadium as many large events, including seven major concerts have stopped by to celebrate the recently completed costly renovation to the stadium.
Officials are studying bringing a multi-day music festival to the stadium in the future. Stadium officials said they expect to earn $400,000 in revenue from the two-day Air & Style event.
But not everyone is happy to hear White and his snow are coming to town.
Rose Bowl neighbor Nina Chomsky, president of the Linda Vista-Annandale Neighborhood Association, said she was horrified to learn the event would feature man-made snow amid a serious drought, calling the event an “insult” to the current situation where residents are restricted from using water on certain days.
Officials said the snow will be made from large ice blocks produced by Arctic Glacier ice company in Vernon. A total of 160,000 gallons of water will be used for the event, and the run-off will be used to irrigate the area around the stadium, the report said.
The stadium has long clashed with neighbors over the number of events held each year, traffic and noise issues. Officials have planned a community meeting to discuss these issues on Wednesday.
But White said he has worked with the city to make the event fun for everyone.
Air & Style takes place Feb. 21-22 and will be held inside the stadium and on the grounds surrounding it. Tickets are on sale for $139 to sit in the stands and $189 for the floor at Ticketmaster.com.
(Shel Segal can be reached at ssegal@beaconmedianews.com. He can be followed via Twitter @segallanded.)

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