Extra Police Patrols, Crowd at Rose Bowl Sunday for Gold Cup Soccer Match

By City News Service

There will be additional uniformed officers, bomb- sniffing dogs, "covert resources" and police helicopters for Sunday's CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer doubleheader at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena Police Department Chief Phillip L. Sanchez said.

"The Pasadena Police Department will be on the lookout for suspicious behaviors," Sanchez said.

Sanchez told City News Service he wants fans attending the doubleheader "to be part of the security solution."

"If they see something suspicious, say something," Sanchez said, reminding fans to call 911 if it is an emergency or (626) 744-4241 if "it's non-emergency, but looks suspicious."

"We need to harness the collective awareness of our fans," Sanchez said.

The first-round group play doubleheader in the tournament to determine the men's soccer's regional champion of North America, Central America and the Caribbean will begin at 2:30 p.m. with a game between Canada and Martinique. The featured game between Mexico and Panama is set to start at 5 p.m.

Rose Bowl officials expect a crowd of more than 60,000 and are advising fans to arrive early, carpool or take the Metro Gold Line to avoid traffic delays.

Parking lots will open at noon. With 75 percent of the available parking located on golf courses north of the stadium, the walk from the parking space to the stadium may be as much as a mile-and-a-half. Fans arriving at the stadium after 4 p.m. are likely to experience a long walk and may miss a portion of the Mexico-Panama game.

Metro Gold Line trains will run every seven-to-eight minutes to and from Pasadena's Memorial Park Station, two blocks from the Parsons Engineering parking lot at 100 W. Walnut St., where a free shuttle bus will take fans to and from the stadium.

Fans arriving early can attend Futbol Fiesta in Lot H. It will begin at noon and feature live music, interactive elements, face painters, food vendors and a beer garden.

At halftime of the Mexico-Panama game, an attempt will be made to break the Guinness world record for the largest mariachi performance. The record is 555 set in 2010 in Tucson, Ariz. Organizers hope to have 600 performers.