Drinking Is OK, but Rose Bowl Operators Will Limit Smoking

Beer will continue to flow during the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day, but smoking will be restricted to certain areas of the stadium, the general manager of the facility’s operating company decided Thursday.

Alcohol and smoking bans were considered at a meeting of the Rose Bowl Operating Co. in Pasadena after the Tournament of Roses, supported by the Pacific-10 and Big Ten conferences, asked that beer sales be banned permanently.

The RBOC didn’t vote but decided to allow its general manager, Dave Jacobs, to handle the issues administratively. Under the company’s contract, the RBOC has the right to decide whether beer should be sold, Jacobs said.

“I’ve made the decision to go forward with beer sales,” said Jacobs, a retired police lieutenant.

The stadium only serves low-alcohol content beer, the staff is trained to spot drunks and minors with alcohol and no beer is sold after half time. “That system works,” Jacobs said.

The smoking ban was more complicated, Jacobs said, because smoking also harms the health of nonsmokers. Smoking will be banned inside the stadium except in designated areas, he said.