Community Support Campaign Overview There are many creative ways to garner local support. This chapter cites a few novel concepts that aim to foster local goodwill and support. Winning local political support is crucial, but beyond politics it is equally, if not more important to garner the local support of the Arroyo and the entire Pasadena citizenry. The Pasadena Thorns success weighs heavily on the ability to win local support, primarily those Pasadena residents who live nearest to the Rose Bowl and who would be most adversely affected by the 8 annual Thorns home games. That is why this plan must be comprehensive, high profile and understandable. It is important to demonstrate that The Thorns are good for Pasadena. Besides the increased tourism, business and increased prestige of having the NFL team in the largest uncontested market, a separate deliberate campaign will help win support of the City of Pasadena with financial incentives, community involvement, tax benefits and increased efforts to mitigate Rose Bowl neighborhood congestion.

This plan devises a mix of several types of incentives and benefits. Each incentive is aimed at an important and "must-have" part of the community.

This chapter briefly describes some of the following incentive concepts:

• Funding for local schools
  
• Funding for local hospitals
  
• Arroyo Seco residential benefits
  
• Game time services
  
• Increased tax revenues
  
• Athletic Community Activism
  

Each piece of the incentive package will facilitate the building the type of consensus needed to welcome an NFL team to the Pasadena community.

Partial Municipal Ownership
As mentioned previously, the campaign to win Pasadena City Government & residents approval rest partly in partial Pasadena ownershipin the Thorns enterprise. The City of Pasadena must be given an opportunity to own a percentage of the Thorns based on very favorable terms.

Partial Pasadena ownership will instill the kind of 'pride of ownership' that is seen in Green Bay and their beloved Packers. The community will feel involved if they have a stake in the Thorns success. Look no further than the Green Bay Packers for an example of a fan base that implicitly supports their team.

Dividends from municipal ownership are directed into two dedicated funds: one that benefits Pasadena schools and a second fund that benefits Pasadena hospitals and clinics.

Pasadena School Benefits A small annual fund goes directly to Pasadena schools. Pasadena is a small enough city so that a modest fund could make a major and trackable improvement to the 22 schools in the Pasadena Unified School District.

Pasadena Hospitals & Clinics A second fund will provide an allocation to Pasadena hospitals and emergency clinics. Funding health care will be popular with city residents, especially in the current climate of rising health care costs and dimishing services.

Arroyo Seco Residential Benefits

A privately funded dividend is distributed as compensation to those residents most affected by football home games serves as a simple plan to win the support of an understandably skeptical stadium neighborhood. Arroyo residents have valid concerns as to how large Rose Bowl events will affect their daily lives. Part of the Thorns' proposal will give a dividend to stadium neighbors and those most impacted by the increased activity at the Rose Bowl. The concept is as follows: The closer they live, the larger the dividend. Even wary Pasadena residents may find motivation from a few extra bucks in their pockets. The most significant dividends goes to those impacted the most by football home games. The dividends source directly from a percentage of Thorns revenue in the form of a guaranteed sum to be no less than a specified predetermined amount. That sum divided by the residents surrounding the bowl. Each resident within a concentric zone receives a larger compensation for any inconveniences caused by the 8 Thorns home games. Rose Zone - immediately adjoining the Rose Bowl Green Zone - within proximity to the Rose Bowl Gold Zone - further away but still impacted by the Rose Bowl

Rose Bowl neighboring streets (not to scale)

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Campaign to Lessen Local Impact of Football Events.

A Good Neighbor
An on-going concern of the Arroyo residents is the impact of thousands of people entering and leaving the neighborhood. Most local opposition to Rose Bowl expansion has been rooted in fear of gridlocked streets, nuissance, smog and increased crime. Their fears are well grounded and should be addressed. It is important to the local residents that serious high profile efforts be made to decrease the impact of Rose Bowl attendees and win the goodwill of the Arroyo residents.

Encourage Off-Site Parking:

• Offer souvenirs for those who use Park n' Ride shuttles. A small, inexpensive incentive of a Thorns pennant, bobble head doll or car flag would probably draw many fans to use the shuttle system and thus relieving the Rose Bowl of some game-time traffic.

• Encourage Gold Line Metroline usage. Shuttles can transport fans from the new Pasadena Gold Line to the Rose Bowl.

Increase Game Time services:
Free 'Pink Dot' style delivery services for those residents within the Arroyo. Residents local to the Rose Bowl often have difficulty running simple errands on game day. On Thorn's game days, a local delivery service is set up to delivery market and other goods for only the cost of the goods. Residents won't have to wade thru the crowded streets to get a dozen eggs or a gallon of milk.

Encourage Off-Site Parking:
Tailgate entry limit to 1 hour before game time. Fans arriving afterwards must park off site. This will decrease last minute congestion. It will meter the arrival of fans so to spread out traffic. Possibly preference to season ticket holders.

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Increased Tax Revenues

• The Pasadena Thorns will increased tourism & tourist revenue. Fans from all over the country will visit and vacation in beautiful Pasadena.

• Weekly football saves the Rose Bowl name from an unwelcome corporate identity. Mitigates the threat of the Rose Bowl becoming the 'Home Depot Bowl'.

• Increased property values from the high profile stadium (expand why).

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Athlete Community Activism:

The Pasadena school system & community benefits by the high profile community activism of the incoming athletes. The activism could be a model for school participation the entire region. The public relations success could be enourmous.

Community programs such as The United Way and Reading Is Fundamental help put a face on community activism.

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