I have to give this away Bill Plaschke when he's right. UCLA's move to Sophie Stadium makes about as much sense as hiring a typical UCLA coach.
This month I was able to attend the Steelers-Chargers game in SoFi on Sunday and the USC-Iowa game at the Coliseum the following Saturday. These two places are different, and only one of them resembles the college experience.
SoFi stuffs tailgates like sardines. There is no room to enjoy this experience.
The fresh air and scenery of the Rose Bowl are arguably the best in the country. People don't come to the Rose Bowl for a very simple reason: program stinks. Not the venue. This proves the old saying: “Fish stinks from the head.” Last weekend, thousands of fans sat in the rain to watch the Trojans play because the product on the field was worth it. Simple.
Jeff Heister
Chatsworth
Who can blame UCLA for wanting to play at Sophie Stadium, a state-of-the-art sports venue, not to mention a great recruiting tool, just 15 minutes from campus? While Bill Plaschke waxes nostalgic, the rest of us wander down the 10 Freeway from Westwood through downtown to the far northeast corner of Los Angeles to the ancient landmark that is the Rose Bowl.
After that, those of us who sit on the east side of the stadium and watch the sun set until the fourth quarter, with scorched retinas, wander into the dirt golf course they call the parking lot to wait in our stacked cars until everyone else gets out so we can leave, an hours-long ordeal just to get home. My only question is: Which UCLA genius signed a long-term contract to play at a place that became obsolete long before the ink was dry?
Art Peck
Park view
UCLA will pay millions of dollars to lawyers to try to get the university out of the ironclad Rose Bowl lease it promised to honor. On top of those fees, they will pay Pasadena tens of millions more to get out of the deal.
If UCLA takes those same millions, invests in a top-tier coach, improves its football programs and facilities, and fills its zero-sum coffers, it should result in a winning, sustainable program that brings more fans to games. Rose Bowl revenues are growing.
Pasadena may receive a one-time windfall, but over time without an anchor tenant, revenue will dwindle and the stadium's shine will fade.
Where are the reasonable, honorable people with the intelligence and determination to make a fair deal?
David Griffin
Westwood
UCLA will likely abandon historic Rose Bowl Stadium, home of a million memories and team successes, as the sterile confines of Sophie Stadium disgust any longtime Bruin fan. Terry Donahue, we sincerely apologize.
Jack Wolf
Westwood
