The Rose Bowl was denied a special exemption from the state of California to allow several hundred fans to participate in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff on January 1, putting the remaining game in Pasadena in serious doubt.
A person involved in organizing the game told The Associated Press that the request for the Rose Tournament was rejected earlier this week.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity, as Rose Bowl and College Football Playoff were still finalizing a plan for what to do with the game. A decision was expected before the playoff teams were selected on Sunday, the person said.
If the game is moved, a site would probably be AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. PCP offices are located in suburban Dallas.
Coaches and school officials with playoff contenders have complained that the Rose Bowl cannot accommodate players’ family members because of California’s COVID-19 restrictions, which are set in a state where the state is trying to fight a public health crisis that It disturbs his hospitals.
This is the second time California health officials have denied it the application of the Exempt Roses Tournament to allow fans at the stadium with 90,888 seats.
Los Angeles County is under a home-stay order, which went into effect earlier this month. Pasadena has its own public health department and can set its own rules, but it mostly followed the county’s direction during the coronavirus pandemic.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly even suggested on Friday that Fighting Irish could boycott the playoffs if they won the field and were forced to play in the Rose Bowl without the players’ families being allowed to participate.
After Ohio State defeated Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday to improve their chances of winning a CFP spot, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day echoed the feelings of Kelly, coach Clemson, Dabo Swinney and others.
“I also agree that families need to be there,” Day said.
It is unclear if the game will move if it is called the Rose Bowl. If not, it would be the first time in more than 100 years that no Rose Bowl game has been played after a college football season. The first Rose Bowl was played on January 1, 1902.
The last time the Rose Bowl was played outside of Pasadena, California, was in 1942. The game between Oregon and Duke was played in Durham, North Carolina, because the West Coast was considered unsafe after the Pearl Harbor attacks in December 7. 1941.
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