‘Party of the Century’ Raises $2.1 Million; Rose Bowl and Levy Restaurants #Fumble

The Rose Bowl and it’s Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation were finally able to host their Party of the Century gala over the weekend at the iconic Rose Bowl stadium. The 1,200 person fundraising gala was held on the turf and featured a roaring 20’s theme with guests decked out in their finest gowns and suits in homage to the era complete with a speakeasy requiring a secret password to enter.

During Saturday’s  program the Rose Bowl Institute announced their new ROSI Awards, naming hometown hero Jackie Robinson as the “Sportsperson of the Century” and selecting seven time Olympic medal gymnast Simone Biles as “Sportsperson of the Year” who accepted the award via video.

As guests filtered onto the turf among the dazzling chandeliers, fine china and giant Rose Bowl background photo ops, they were none the wiser of the chaos going on behind the scenes. The head chef for Levy Resturants preparing the plated dinner for the evening took over direction for the hundred plus temporary staff hired for the evening as the on site event supervisors quickly became lost in managing their event. One Rose Bowl Levy staff member proclaimed there were no tray jacks available to place the large trays of hot dinners on, moments before another staffer showed up with a dozen tray jacks. The other event supervisor, a blonde very new to the organization, asked hospitality staff for the “foldy thingies that you put food on”.

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Temporary staff arrived in staggered schedules in a way that ended up leaving many of them without lunch and only offered water for the rest of the day. Some of the staffing companies didn’t provide any meal at all for the staff who were asked to arrive in long pants, long sleeved shirts and some required to wear suit jackets while setting up the event in 95 degree weather. Rose Bowl stadium staff worked in shorts and t-shirts until just before the Party of the Century started.

The Levy Restaurants Rose Bowl stadium staff attempted to prevent temporary staff from accepting the leftover hot meals the chef offered to them and refused to give them a break. Temporary staff took their health and hunger into their own hands and accepted the hot meal offered and took brief breaks to enjoy a quick meal after working in the hot sun for more than 5 hours. Many also took up the offers of the glamorous guests to join them on the dance floor when the music began. After all, it was the only break offered to them as the Rose Bowl staff didn’t check them on them throughout the evening. The hospitality staff took back the reins as they danced and sang through the remainder of their shifts with many compliments from the guests despite the very poor management from the Levy Rose Bowl supervisors.

Coldplay donated a VIP concert package to the evening that sold at auction for more than $23,000 for an upcoming concert at the Rose Bowl in 2023 as part of their ‘Music Of The Spheres Tour’ which is a tour aimed at touring in a sustainable and low-carbon as possible way, guided by three key principles:

• Reduce our consumption, recycle extensively and cut our CO2 emissions by 50%
• Support new green technologies and develop new sustainable, super-low carbon touring methods
• Make the tour as environmentally beneficial as possible by funding a portfolio of nature- and technology-based projects and by drawing down significantly more CO2 than the tour produces

During the height of the COVID pandemic, the Rose Bowl stadium offered community lunches to those in the surrounding areas so it was with great disappointment to see the Rose Bowl and Levy Restaurant staff all but congratulating each other when they confirmed that they had thrown the leftover food and beverages in the garbage. Levy Restaurants required temporary staff to throw away everything. None of the thousands of cans or bottles used that evening were recycled, even though the hospitality staff requested recycling. Doesn’t the City of Pasadena require recycling Mayor Gordo? Christ Martin, you may want to carefully reconsider your tour rider for the Rose Bowl if you’re trying to host a sustainable tour.

Rose Bowl staff lied directly to the temporary staff and claimed all floral arrangements on the tables were for the gala guests to take home, when the stadium was already 98% emptied of gala guests. A short time later Rose Bowl and Levy staff were seen leaving with the floral arrangements while most were thrown in the garbage.

The iconic Rose Bowl Stadium? It’s more like a football fumble. The evening was sponsored by Western Asset