> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Rose Bowl matchup leaves SM in the dust - URL: https://www.smdp.com/rose-bowl-matchup-leaves-sm-in-the-dust/ - Published: 2003-12-30T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:25:35.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Sports, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Local hotel bookings appear to be down this season* With college football’s Rose Bowl just two days away, Santa Monica hotels, restaurants and bars normally would be abuzz with school alumni and other boosters. But not this year. Neither Michigan State nor the University of California have set up camp in Santa Monica — a traditional destination for Rose Bowl fans. And followers of the two teams, which will face off in the annual Jan. 1 Rose Bowl, appear to be steering clear, too. The loss is especially painful to local bars, restaurants and hotels, which for years have benefited from a big crowd with an appetite for entertainment. At Le Merigot Beach Hotel & Spa, more than 100 rooms originally set aside for visiting fans are vacant. The same is true at the Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel, used for more than a decade by Rose Bowl team marching bands. And at the Britannia bar on Santa Monica Boulevard, owners are bracing for as much as a 20 And they’re not alone. “We’re very happy for USC to be involved in such a great game, but it has not brought a traveling fan base,” said Joe Kurth, executive assistant manager at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Though Kurth declined to say exactly how much business has been lost at his hotel, he called it “a noticeable difference.” > “We’re very happy for USC to be involved in such a great game, but it has not brought a traveling fan base.” — — JOE KURTH Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel City Councilman Bob Holbrook, a pharmacist at USC, said the loss of revenue locally is especially painful because of the controversy surrounding the computer-driven Bowl Championship Series rankings. Rather than pick No.-1 ranked USC to play in the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl for the national title, the complicated BCS formula pitted Louisiana State University against University of Oklahoma, the second-and third-ranked teams, respectively. What’s left are two teams essentially playing in their own backyards — LSU will play in New Orleans and USC will play in Pasadena. “Up to 45,000 people would have traveled (had USC gone to the Sugar Bowl),” Holbrook said. “Fifteen thousand going east and up to 30,000 going west. That’s, conceivably, 45,000 people needing hotels, restaurants and airfare, now not going anywhere.” > “That’s, conceivably, 45,000 people needing hotels, restaurants and airfare, now not going anywhere.” — — CITY COUNCILMAN BOB HOLBROOK Holbrook said the current arrangement means “hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars” in lost revenues to Santa Monica and New Orleans. He said downtown Santa Monica has traditionally been a high-profile partying place for visiting teams and pointed to a recent Rose Bowl when the mayor of Madison, Wisc., and the governor of that state were rumored to both be in line for the same bar and restaurant on the Third Street Promenade. Reservations weren’t recommended during some of those busy Rose Bowl weeks — they were required, Holbrook said. Had USC gone to the Sugar Bowl this year, as was widely expected, Holbrook said the college would have sent thousands of fans to New Orleans. Hotel bookings arranged through school workers were listed at $1,000 per room for the four-day stay, inexpensive game tickets at $300 a piece and airfare at $600 or $700, Holbrook said. Add to that food, drink, cabs and other entertainment expenses, and the bottom line becomes more substantial. Francois Khoury, general manager at the Doubletree, where for 12 years one of the visiting marching bands have stayed, said his hotel will miss out on a total of 500 nights of reservations — 100 rooms for five nights. And that doesn’t include the family and friends who travel with the band, a number that can’t exactly be calculated. Khoury said because USC is located downtown, its team and fans are staying in downtown Los Angeles and in Century City, where hotel rooms are cheaper and the commute to the Rose Bowl is shorter. “Why make a longer trip, pay more money and everything else?” Khoury said. Mark Panelli, sales manager for South LA-based Beauchamp Distributing Company, which delivers beer to bars in Santa Monica, said it’s too early to say how much local sales will suffer as a result of the matchup. Currently, local orders seem to be relatively strong, down at the most by 5 percent, he said. “Whatever trends are going to happen are going to happen in the next three days,” he said. “If they’re coming into town, they’re going to come this week.” Debbie Lee, communications director for the Santa Monica Visitors and Convention Bureau, an arm of City Hall that promotes tourism, said many fans may choose to stay in Santa Monica even if the teams and others don’t. She said the beach and the Promenade, among other things, are a strong draw for tourists. Her department each year sends out a blast e-mail, contacting the alumni offices and travel agents in the cities of the teams that play in the Rose Bowl. On Monday, Lee said she didn’t know whether that had paid off this year. She added her team will conduct outreach early next year to see how local merchants fared. In the meantime, Lee said the visitors bureau is working with the Pier Restoration Corp., a nonprofit that manages the Santa Monica Pier, in a project targeting those that do stay in one of Santa Monica’s 3,700-plus hotel rooms. They’re handing out cheerleader pom-poms — decked out in team colors — as part of promotional packets designed to get tourists out of their rooms and spending their money. Mayor Richard Bloom said that although the local hospitality industry may suffer from this year’s matchup, there is still likely to be a surge on New Year’s. “People are out, celebrating. People are having a good time. And I’m sure, if there is a downturn, to a certain degree it has to do with the economy,” he said. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/123003-02_01-7.jpg) of Nebraska Cornhusker fans descend onto the Santa Monica Pier two years ago before the Rose Bowl. (Photo: File photo Thousands) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 30, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/123003.pdf?ref=smdp.com)