Tournament Park

Californian park and athletics venue

Tournament Park

Tournament of Roses chariot race, 1911

Pasadena

Location in the United States

Show map of the United States

Pasadena

Location in California

Show map of California

Location| Pasadena, California
Coordinates| 34°07′59″N 118°07′34″W﻿ / ﻿34.133°N 118.126°W﻿ / 34.133; -118.126
Elevation| 750 feet (230 m) AMSL
Status| Always open

Tournament Park is a park and athletics venue in Pasadena, California, United States, northeast of Los Angeles. Currently maintained by the California Institute of Technology, it was simply known as the "town lot" before being renamed "Tournament Park" in 1900.[1] Tournament Park gets its name from the Tournament of Roses, and it served as a venue in the early 20th century for events associated with the Tournament, such as chariot races, ostrich races, and even a race between a camel and an elephant.[2][3] Besides hosting Tournament of Roses events, the venue hosted other events at the turn of the 20th century, such as the Southern California Horse Show Association's annual horse show.[4] Tournament Park is best known as the site of the first eight Rose Bowl Games (1902, 1916–1922).

## Background

[edit]

Its seating capacity in 1922 was 43,000, many of which were in temporary wooden bleachers that the city deemed unsafe, thus necessitating the construction of the Rose Bowl stadium,[5] about two miles (3 km) northwest. Tournament Park hosted a handful of USC football games, chiefly against out-of-state opponents, in the 1910s and 1920s prior to the construction of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, since the park dwarfed USC's then on-campus venue of Bovard Field.[6]

Following the departure of the New Year's Day game to the new stadium in 1923, the facility's capacity was reduced substantially, though the parade route ended at Tournament Park for a number of years following the Rose Bowl's completion. Tournament Park, along with the Rose Bowl, served as the venue for Caltech's football team until the school dropped the program.[7]

The stadium site, now known as South Athletic Field, is bounded by the Fox-Stanton Track (named after former Caltech football coach Fox Stanton), and continues to serve as Caltech's track and field venue. The surrounding park, which continues under the Tournament Park moniker, contains a playground and picnic facility.[8]

The elevation of the park is approximately 750 feet (230 m) above sea level.

## Bowl games at Tournament Park

[edit]

* The first Rose Bowl Game in 1902

* 1921 Rose Bowl

## See also

[edit]

* 1902 Rose Bowl
* 1916 Rose Bowl
* Tournament of Roses Parade

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Tournament of Roses History". Retrieved January 1, 2007.
2. ^ Dan O'Sullivan. "1902 - Michigan 49, Stanford 0". ESPN. BCSFootball.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2002.
3. ^ "At Tournament Park: Hairs' Widths Avert a Row of Tragedies". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1913. ProQuest 159824493.
4. ^ "With Splendid Showing and in Blaze of Beauty, Pasadena's Horse Show Opens in Idyllic Scene". Los Angeles Times. March 8, 1907. ProQuest 159071135.
5. ^ "Early Views of Pasadena". Pasadena Department of Water and Power.
6. ^ "USC Football History" (PDF).
7. ^ Pickard, Joe (December 31, 2016). "Why The Rose Parade Is 'Never On A Sunday' And More Interesting Facts". Onward State. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
8. ^ "Tournament Park". California Institute of Technology, Facilities Management Department.

Preceded by

First site

|  Host of the
Rose Bowl Game
1902, 1916–1922  | Succeeded by

Rose Bowl Stadium

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Tournament of Roses

Rose Parade|

* Rose Parade
* Bands
* Rose Parade Floats
* Rose Parade Grand Marshals
* Tournament of Roses Association
* Rose Palace
* Rose Queen
* Rose Parade Themes
* Tournament of Roses Presidents

Floats|

* Cal Poly Universities (Pomona & San Luis Obispo) Rose Float
* Valley Hunt Club

Rose Bowl|

* Rose Bowl Game
* Rose Bowl Stadium
* Rose Bowl Game Broadcasters
* Tournament Park
* Great Rose Bowl Hoax
* Bowl Championship Series (BCS)
* BCS TV & Radio
* BCS controversies
* College Football Playoff

* v
* t
* e

California Institute of Technology

Campus|

* Athenaeum at Caltech
* Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory
* Beckman Institute at Caltech

Student life|

* House System

Athletics|

* Caltech Beavers
* Great Rose Bowl Hoax
* Quantum Hoops
* Tournament Park

People|

* People list

Affiliated research
organizations|

* Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
* Jet Propulsion Laboratory
* Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory
* Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory
* LIGO
* Palomar Observatory
* W. M. Keck Observatory
* Submillimeter Observatory
* Table Mountain Observatory
* Thirty Meter Telescope

Related topics|

* Einstein Papers Project
* MIT rivalry
* Real Genius
* Caltech Seismological Laboratory

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template