The Rose Parade: A Money Maker for Pasadena

As the old calendar page rips off and gives way to a new year, the marching bands in the Rose Parade start their procession down Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California. Bands and float entrants who travel from around the United States and the globe fill the streets and bring money to the hospitality industry in Pasadena and Los Angeles County.

A Way to Sell Homes in 1890

The Rose Parade started when transplants from the Midwest wanted to show their friends and family they left behind the beauty of a winter day in Pasadena, framed by the San Gabriel Mountains.

"They were originally called the 'Indiana colony,'" said Mitch Dorger, CEO of the Tournament of Roses Association, the non-profit group that organizes festivities, chooses the Rose Parade Queen and works with the official volunteers. "Many of the people who started the Rose Parade were from Indiana and they staged the event to take pictures, paint portraits and send back to their hometowns. Many communities at the time in Southern California were starting to push development."

The Rose Bowl Game = Big Money

Then the Rose Bowl football game kicked off in 1902 as a way to pay for the event, said Dorger. Today, the Tournament of Roses Association breaks even on the Parade while the football game turns a profit.

"If we didn't have the game," said Dorger, "we wouldn't have the money to operate year 'round."

An Economic Cash Cow

Direct spending for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game, the "granddaddy of them all", pours about $208,000,000 into the region according to a study commissioned in 2005. Another economic study is currently underway. Dorger says figuring a multiplier and estimating the direct benefits and indirect benefits raises that figure to $370,000,000.

Hotels and restaurants in Old Town Pasadena and the neighboring cities in Los Angeles County are sold out weeks and months in advance.

"People stay about 3 ½ days on average," said Dorger. "The bulk of the money flows to hotels and restaurants but nearby attractions like Universal Studios, Disneyland, and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills do well, too."

Schools, church groups and local scout troops turns empty parking lots into fee areas and get a fundraising boost. The event also puts cash into the pocket of men and women who make up to an extra $150 to $200 on that day selling cameras and batteries.

Each year, the Tournament of Roses Association donates anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000 to local non-profit organizations that provide a direct community benefit.

Pasadena - World Famous

In addition to the money, Pasadena benefits from positive publicity.

"It's a city of 145,000 people," remarked Dorger. "What other city of that size in the United States hosts an annual event like the Rose Parade and bowl game?"

He mentioned it's also a showcase for the local museums such as the Norton Simon and schools like the California Institute of Technology.

Changes in the Future?

About 800,000 to 900,000 spectators line the 6-mile route on parade day. Estimates have been as high as 1,500,000 about 25 - 30 years ago, Dorger said.

Marching bands, equestrian groups and more participants keep asking to be involved, but Dorger sees a change happening in media coverage.

"Our television viewing is down," he said. "the younger generation won't sit and watch the parade the way the older audience will. We're looking to see how we can adapt our product so it's popular to viewers in other mediums and keep the sponsors wanting to sponsor the floats. We have to convince sponsors the media coverage is not just television viewers anymore."

Sponsors have included corporations such as Honda, FTD, Singapore Airlines and countries like Malaysia and the People's Republic of China this year with a controversial float geared toward the Summer Olympics.

"Last year's Star Wars float was a huge success on YouTube," said Dorger, "generating hundreds of thousands of views the day after the parade.

"We have to look at the whole range of content across DVDs, cell phones, print and even iTunes where an edited version of the game was one of the most popular downloaded items."

"But we don't see any changes occurring in the parade itself," he concluded.

One element that won't change anytime soon: flowers, bark, seeds, and other natural materials that are pasted on day and night before the parade by tireless volunteers have to adorn the outside of every float.

The next day, Colorado Boulevard welcomes the buzz of cars as business as usual takes over the city in the new year.