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Tournament Park facts for kids

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Tournament Park
Tournament of Roses chariot race, 1911
Tournament of Roses chariot race, 1911
Location Pasadena, California
Status Always open

Tournament Park is a cool park and sports area in Pasadena, California, a city near Los Angeles. Today, the Caltech takes care of it. Before 1900, people just called it the "town lot." It got its name, Tournament Park, from the famous Tournament of Roses.

In the early 1900s, this park was a popular spot for exciting events connected to the Tournament of Roses. Imagine seeing chariot races, ostrich races, and even a race between a camel and an elephant here! Besides these fun events, the park also hosted other big shows, like the yearly horse show from the Southern California Horse Show Association. Tournament Park is most famous for being the place where the first eight Rose Bowl Games were played, from 1902 to 1922.

A Look Back at Tournament Park's History

In 1922, Tournament Park could hold about 43,000 people. Many of these seats were on temporary wooden stands. The city thought these stands were not safe. This led to the building of the Rose Bowl stadium, which is about two miles away.

Before the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was built, Tournament Park also hosted some USC football games. These were mostly against teams from other states. Tournament Park was much bigger than USC's own field at the time, Bovard Field.

After the Rose Bowl Stadium Was Built

After the Rose Bowl Game moved to the new stadium in 1923, Tournament Park's seating was made much smaller. However, the Rose Parade route still ended at Tournament Park for several years. Both Tournament Park and the Rose Bowl stadium were used by the Caltech's football team. This continued until Caltech stopped having a football program.

Tournament Park Today

The part of the park where the stadium used to be is now called South Athletic Field. It has the Fox-Stanton Track around it, named after a former Caltech football coach, Fox Stanton. This track is still used for Caltech's track and field events. The rest of Tournament Park has a playground and a picnic area for everyone to enjoy. The park is about 750 feet above sea level.

Rose Bowl Games Played Here

  • 1st-Rose-Bowl-game-1902

    The first Rose Bowl Game in 1902

  • 1921 Rose Bowl

    1921 Rose Bowl

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