Alteration of Municipal Code Contingent Upon Arts and Music Festival
By Gus Herrera
Residents of Pasadena who are vehemently opposed to the three dreaded letters that own Sundays in the fall and winter – N.F.L. – can breathe a little easier … for now.
On Monday, July 18, during their regular meeting, the Pasadena City Council authorized the city attorney to delete a section from the municipal code that increases the possible displacement events hosted at the Rose Bowl, in order to accommodate the NFL.
The decision to do so spawned, in part, due to the city and the Rose Bowl Operating Company’s (RBOC) contractual agreement with AEG to put on what is to be known as the Arroyo Seco Arts and Music Festival.
Council hopes that this multi-day cultural event will provide long-term financial stability for the city and the Rose Bowl. Furthermore, when the NFL decided to return to LA and they approached Pasadena with the opportunity to host a team in the interim (i.e. while the Inglewood Stadium is being built), the RBOC rejected their Request for Proposal (RFP) and chose to pursue the festival instead, because the “board felt very strongly that a music and arts festival is better suited with city’s image,” said Council Member Victor Gordo, president of the RBOC.
The NFL’s exodus from Los Angeles in 1994 immediately flipped the metaphorical hourglass, setting into the motion the countdown for its inevitable return. More than two decades later, the sand has run out and, come next month, America’s multi-billion-dollar cash cow will return to the Los Angeles Coliseum.
During the more than two decades that have passed, Pasadena residents, especially those in the Linda Vista and Annandale neighborhoods, have been repulsed by the very idea of potentially having the Rose Bowl play host to the NFL and its trailing wake of traffic and congestion.
On April 4, council began to quell these fears, when they certified the environmental impact report (EIR) necessary to move forward with the festival, in which it was noted that “the Festival and NFL could not occur in the same year,” according to city staff’s report.
The next step in city protocol requires all matters pertaining to the Rose Bowl “be reviewed by the RBOC.” On May 10, the RBOC met to discuss deleting the aforementioned section, ultimately concluding that it is very likely the arts and music festival continues “for at least three years (through 2019) and it is also highly likely that the NFL stadium in Inglewood … will be complete and the opportunity to host the NFL will be gone,” according to staff’s report.
Thus, seeing as the festival is almost certain to take place and, moreover, the city’s contractual obligation is contingent upon an EIR that precludes the coexistence of the NFL and a festival, the RBOC ultimately recommended the removal of the section, which accommodates the NFL, from the municipal code.
Council approved this recommendation without opposition, but it is important to note that the deletion will not be effective until the first festival occurs. This sparked some backlash from the public and certain council members alike.
Nina Chomsky, speaking on behalf of the Linda Vista Annandale Association, asked, “what is the point of holding the NFL in our city’s back pocket? Are the city and the RBOC speaking truthfully when they say the NFL is no longer an option? We think that the city should be straightforward, transparent, and unequivocal.”
Council Member Tyron Hampton also questioned why the section could not be deleted until the festival occurs, “I’ll take a win when I can get a win. I consider this still a win. But I don’t understand the purpose of waiting until after the first festival event, if we are no longer going after the NFL.”
Council Member Gordo responded by saying, “the EIR for the music and arts festival makes it clear that there cannot be an NFL presence so long as there is a festival … we are contractually obligated to AEG … we said no to the NFL very clearly by not pursuing the RFP.”
Council Member Steve Madison echoed Gordo’s argument, saying, “we’ve been consistent in going forward with the music festival, that was a fork in the road and we are leaving the NFL aside and moving on.” He also recognized that there will always be speculation when it comes to matters of this magnitude, “I get that conspiracy theorists are always going to be suspicious.”
Gordo further argued that it was important to take things one step at a time, citing the section which accommodates the NFL as potential leverage, incentivizing AEG to follow through with the festival, “the important thing to do is make sure that they follow through – have that first event – and then we adopt the ordinance.”
Mayor Terry Tornek concluded by reminding everyone that there still exists a “series of fairly unlikely, but semi-plausible scenarios where the NFL could come knocking again,” (i.e. the possibility of the Chargers or Raiders joining the Rams in Los Angeles). But he also re-assured all those in attendance that, “if we have the festival, no NFL, period.”
The ordinance, deleting the section of the municipal code that accommodates the NFL, will return to council for first reading after completion of the first festival, which is expected to be in June 2017.
