Inauguration: 1 January 1923

Bringing football to sunny California

[AFP]

With no traditional venues for football, the United States was an unconventional choice to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup?. However, a month of dramatic international action and consistently large and lively crowds won over the world, eventually focusing its attentions on the massive Rose Bowl -- venue of the USA ¡¯94 final.

Nestled at the edge of the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles, the gracious old construction accommodated 94,194 spectators and provided a fitting backdrop not only for the glamorous final between a pair of three-time world champions, Brazil and Italy, but also served as a tribute to the cultural melting pot that is Southern California.

The South Americans claimed their fourth FIFA World Cup in a penalty shootout after what can only be called an anticlimactic contest. After the match, the Sele?ao finally got their hands on the FIFA World Cup trophy, after getting to keep the old Jules Rimet as a keepsake once they won it for a third time in 1970. The tournament¡¯s true stars, Romario and Roberto Baggio, were mostly silent - other than Baggio¡¯s famous penalty miss of course - but the atmosphere in the ground was admirably upbeat. Open and festive, the scene was joyous rather than tense as the stadium¡¯s inhabitants thoroughly basked in their moment in the sun.

A ¡®Major League¡¯ stadium

But, for the venue itself, just miles from the glitz of Hollywood, the glare of the spotlight is nothing new. Along with the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the Rose Bowl also hosted the gold medal match at the 1984 Olympic Football Tournament, with 101,799 people turning out to see France beat Brazil 2-0.

It was also home to the famous final of the 1999 FIFA Women¡¯s World Cup in which the hosts beat China on penalty kicks. Over 90,000 people were at the match, a contest many consider the apex of women¡¯s football thus far. The stadium has also hosted American football¡¯s Super Bowl on a handful of occasions and is well known in the United States as a venue for collegiate American football.

Completed in 1922, the Rose Bowl has over the years increased in capacity from 57,000 to 90,000+ as the shape has gone from horseshoe to oval, and the venue has correspondingly branched out from its gridiron roots. Innumerable shows and concerts have been held there, as well as the world¡¯s largest ¡°open-air¡± market, and many international football matches have entertained audiences of all sizes.

Major League Soccer¡¯s LA Galaxy called the cavern home for years, and not only were the U.S. national team regulars there, but the Mexican side and many other Central American teams managed to play to supporters of all sorts. Though typically avoiding the Rose Bowl for individual matches with Spanish-speaking supporters likely to outnumber their own, the USA have played there 15 times, losing on just three occasions.

The first of these was a 1-0 defeat to Romania in the States¡¯ final group contest of USA ¡¯94 on 26 June. Four days before, the Red, White and Blue had shocked fancied Colombia 2-1 on the same pitch. Over 93,000 people saw the U.S.¡¯s first FIFA World Cup victory since 1950, and roared on the popular young team as they did a lap of honour. They also witnessed what would become an infamous own goal by Andres Escobar, who was murdered shortly after the event.

Remembering moments

Of course, most of the famous football memories from the Rose Bowl aren't so grim, and they span from the continental to the global stage. Romania¡¯s fabulous 3-2 triumph over Argentina in the second round of the 1994 FIFA World Cup stands out as one of the contests of the tournament.

Ilie Dumitrescu was the scourge of the Albiceleste that day. It was his looping free kick from the left that dropped over the head of Argentina¡¯s Luis Islas and began the day¡¯s frantic drama. After Gabriel Batistuta equalised through a penalty, his fourth and final goal of the finals, Dumitrescu slyly completed his brace in just minute 18 of the afternoon match.

As the clash raged back and forth between the two skilful sides, Rose Bowl faithful were treated to another magic moment from Dumitrescu, who slotted the ball perfectly through three defenders and into the path of Georghe Hagi. One of the breakout stars of the event made no mistake with his right-footed blast. With Diego Maradona watching helplessly from the stands, Abel Balbo claimed a goal back to make the last quarter hour as exciting as the rest of the match. But, it was to be the end of the two-time world champions at USA ¡¯94.

The Pasadena ground was also the end of road for dark horses Sweden, who fell in the semi-final to Romario¡¯s fifth goal of the finals. With Jonas Stern sent off to the delight of the celebrating Brazilian revellers, the brilliant little striker doubled their happiness with that rarest of pleasures from him -- a headed goal.

The final itself may not have lived up to the high expectations, but there were many scenes to stick in the memory: the injured Baggio with head in hands, a chain of Brazilians celebrating their victory hand in hand and the brave, aging libero Franco Baresi in tears after playing the match of his life but missing his penalty kick. As a banner hanging on the Rose Bowl¡¯s stylish walls read, it certainly was ¡°Making soccer history.¡±

With the construction of the football-specific, but significantly smaller, Home Depot Centre south of LA, the Rose Bowl¡¯s days as an international venue has lost some lustre, but there will always be memories of its days in the global footballing sun.

Did You Know?

The original Rose Bowl was a 57,000-seat horseshoe open on the south end and cost over US,000 to build. In 1928, the seating capacity was increased to 76,000 and it was enlarged again in 1932 (83,000), 1949 (100,800) and 1972 (105,000). The current seating capacity is approximately 93,000, although in 1973 a record crowd of almost 107,000 individuals watched an American football game.

The Rose Bowl has approximately 77 rows of seats.

The fence around the Rose Bowl is 1.6 kilometres in circumference.

There are over 100 different varieties of rose bushes situated between the stadium and the fence.

The 1994 championship decider between Brazil and Italy is the only FIFA World Cup final to end with penalty kicks.

Hosted

1994 FIFA World Cup final (Brazil 0:0 Italy - 3:2 PSO)

1994 FIFA World Cup third-place (Sweden 4:0 Bulgaria)

1994 FIFA World Cup semi-final (Sweden 0:1 Brazil)

1994 FIFA World Cup round of sixteen (Romania 3:2 Argentina)

1994 FIFA World Cup group matches (four)

Olympic Football Tournament 1984

Gold Cup 2002

FIFA Women¡¯s World Cup USA 1999