The Rose Bowl received a special exemption from the state of California to allow a few hundred fans to attend the semifinal of the College Football Playoff on January 1, seriously calling the Pasadena game into question.
One person involved in organizing the game told The Associated Press that the Tournament of Roses request had been denied earlier this week.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the 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 are selected on Sunday, the person said.
If the game is rescheduled, a likely venue will be AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The CFP offices are located in the suburbs of Dallas.
Coaches and school officials with playoff contenders have complained that the Rose Bowl is unable to accommodate players’ relatives due to California’s COVID-19 restrictions, which were put in place while the state is trying to combat a public health crisis that its pressures hospitals.
This is the second time that California health officials have denied the request from the Tournament of Roses for an exemption for fans in the 90,888-seat stadium.
Los Angeles County is under house arrest that took effect earlier this month. Pasadena has its own public health department and can set its own rules, but has followed most of the province during the coronavirus pandemic.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly even suggested that the Fighting Irish could boycott the playoffs on Friday if they made it onto the field and were forced to play in the Rose Bowl without the players’ families allowed to attend.
After beating the Ohio State Northwestern in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship game to improve its chances for a spot in the CFP, Buckeyes coach Ryan Day echoed the sentiments of Kelly, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and others.
“I also agree that families should be there,” Day said.
It is unclear if the game will move if it were to be called a Rose Bowl. If not, it would be the first time in over 100 years that a Rose Bowl game wasn’t played after a college football season. The first Rose Bowl was played on January 1, 1902.
The last time the Rose Bowl game was played outside of Pasadena, California, was in 1942. The Oregon State vs. Duke game was played in Durham, North Carolina, as the west coast was deemed unsafe after the attacks on Pearl Harbor at 7. December. 1941.
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