{"id":66028,"date":"2025-11-23T04:01:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T04:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/66028\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T04:01:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T04:01:11","slug":"ucla-fans-at-rose-bowl-conflicted-over-possible-sofi-stadium-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/66028\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA fans at Rose Bowl conflicted over possible SoFi Stadium move"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The nostalgia hit Ross Niederhaus in the grocery store as he stocked up for what might be his last Rose Bowl tailgate.<\/p>\n

This has been nearly a lifelong tradition for the native of Linda Vista, starting in 2005 when he was 8 years old and UCLA<\/a> romped over Oregon State. When he got his driver\u2019s license in 2012, Niderhaus started throwing his own tailgates, bringing chicken-in-a-biscuit crackers because he couldn\u2019t afford fancier fare.<\/p>\n

He was back Saturday afternoon underneath a tent on the grass in Lot H, wearing his favorite No. 2 Eric McNeal jersey, possibly here for the last time as the Bruins contemplate whether they will remain at the place they have called home since 1982 or move to SoFi Stadium<\/a> for the 2026 season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish we knew whether or not this was the last time,\u201d Niederhaus said, \u201cbecause if this was the last time for sure I could at least be saying my goodbyes to my favorite tradition. This is my favorite thing to do. My ashes are willed to be spread at the Rose Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA fan Ray Hoit sets up a tent while tailgating at the Rose Bowl before Saturday\u2019s game against Washington.<\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

On the other side of the stadium, on the sprawling Brookside Golf Course, Nicholaus Iamaleava was prepping his pregame tailgate below four tents alongside his brother Matt, the siblings expecting about 60 family members to indulge in a potluck spread of burgers, hot dogs, wings, fries, hot links, sushi and fried rice.<\/p>\n

Both brothers were hoping for more tailgates to come outside the century-old stadium. But just in case, they were preparing for the alternative.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we\u2019re going to go in early,\u201d said Nicholaus Iamaleava, the father of the UCLA starting quarterback<\/a> by the same name. \u201cNormally we go in right before kickoff but this time, we\u2019re going to go in and soak it all in, man. It might be the last game, right, so we want to enjoy every bit of it and just hang out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Iamaleava said he didn\u2019t think moving to SoFi Stadium would solve the attendance issues plaguing the Bruins at their longtime home.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA fan Nathan Nguyen sets up while tailgating outside the Rose Bowl on Saturday.<\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing like playing at the Rose Bowl,\u201d Iamaleava said. \u201cHopefully, it works itself out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Nicholaus Iamaleava: \u201cWe\u2019re praying on it. That would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 6\u00bd hours before UCLA\u2019s kickoff against Washington, Jamie Hickcox-Baker and Dee Fitzgerald-Cardello lugged a table across the pavement in Lot K, having already unfurled a couple of folding chairs. The UCLA graduates were awaiting the arrival of a massive ice sculpture that would hold margaritas for their group of 25 friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very sad because I live in Altadena and so this is in my backyard and I just hate to see it leave,\u201d Fitzgerald-Cardello said. \u201cIt\u2019s just such a tradition. I\u2019m very saddened by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though she\u2019s been making the drive from Fresno to tailgate at the Rose Bowl since 1993, Hickcox-Baker was less wistful about a possible move to SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA fan Leki Manu throws a football outside the Rose Bowl before Saturday\u2019s game against Washington.<\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of feel like we can talk tradition all we want,\u201d Hickcox-Baker said, \u201cbut we left the Pac-12 and the Pac-12 is no longer, so if there\u2019s no tradition in the Rose Bowl game anymore, think about how college football has evolved. I\u2019ve been to a few games at SoFi, it\u2019s a beautiful stadium. The last few years, because our team hasn\u2019t been doing well, we\u2019re stuck in that 100-degree temperature [at the Rose Bowl] and nobody\u2019s coming to the games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Lot H, the scene took on the feel of a state fair. The smell of burgers, brats and other grilled delicacies wafted through the air as children played football on the grass and a nearby patch of dirt. One kid kicked a football, commencing a mad scramble as a group of friends converged on the object of their delight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the reasons why people come now,\u201d longtime fan John Anderson said, \u201cis to be here with friends and be able to run around and throw a ball and stuff and if that can\u2019t happen at SoFi, I think it will be a shame. So I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to get the draw that they think they\u2019re going to get \u2014 maybe a little bump for a couple of games and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UCLA <\/p>\n

UCLA fans tailgate before Saturday\u2019s game at the Rose Bowl between UCLA and Washington.<\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Anderson said he missed one home UCLA football game over the last 16 years, and that was to attend a wedding. And if the Bruins move to SoFi?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go to a game or two,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt really depends on what the pricing looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neiderhaus said he always would support the Bruins while conceding he might be in the minority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be there,\u201d Niederhaus said, \u201cbut I know a lot of people that won\u2019t \u2014 a lot of people I know who are season-ticket holders said they\u2019re not coming back, which I think is a big issue that UCLA needs to be acknowledging throughout all of this. A lot of die-hards care about the Rose Bowl just as much as they care about Bruin football, so who knows\u201d how attendance will go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nostalgia hit Ross Niederhaus in the grocery store as he stocked up for what might be his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[8932,11102,39383,39382,949,1576,39384,48,52,51,8844,47,50,49,39381,39386,39385,10657,39387,5712,39380],"class_list":{"0":"post-66028","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-bruins","9":"tag-burger","10":"tag-favorite-tradition","11":"tag-few-game","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-friend","14":"tag-jamie-hickcox-baker","15":"tag-la","16":"tag-la-headlines","17":"tag-la-news","18":"tag-last-time","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","21":"tag-los-angeles-news","22":"tag-lot-h","23":"tag-nicholaus-iamaleava","24":"tag-possible-sofi-stadium-move","25":"tag-rose-bowl","26":"tag-ross-niederhaus","27":"tag-sofi-stadium","28":"tag-ucla-fan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}