Just got back from attending my second Rose Bowl (alas both were Penn State defeats) and would highly encourage any football fan to make an effort to see a game in this iconic venue. The stadium itself, sits in the Arroyo Seco, an ancient dry riverbed a mile or two from Pasadena's famous Colorado Boulevard. The huge valley is quite picturesque, being ringed by the San Gabriel mountains in the distance. There is a huge "green" (lawn) in front of the stadium–which serves as a parking area and a golf course is located at the stadium's opposite end. The facility was built in the early part of the 20th century, so don't expect many (if any) of the modern amenities which are standard in newer stadiums and arenas. Firstly, the stadium was built as an oval and generally, with these type of stadiums, the higher up that you sit-the better the view of the action that you will have. This is because of the gradual slope of the seating, with the first 10-30 rows being relatively "flat". The seating consists of metal benches. Some have "chairbacks (mostly the rows between the twenty yard lines and some of them don't. To my knowledge, there are no club seats here, although there is a rather large press box-so I'm sure that there are some private suites as well. There are 2 scoreboards, one at the top of each end zone but only one of them is a "Jumbotron" allowing you to watch the game and see replays. Concessions and restrooms are located outside of the seating area and ring the stadiums perimeter. There are a huge variety of concessions available here but it isn't possible to watch the action on the field while waiting in the beer or hotdog line. Similarly, the restrooms are small and cramped, so expect huge lines at halftime. Finally, both access and parking can be difficult as well. The stadium is accessed through (mostly) two lane roads and most (if not all) pass through residential neighborhoods, virtually ensuring that both ingress and egress will not be quick!
Despite all of the faults that I've detailed, I'd still recommend viewing a game at the Rose Bowl. The event itself, is the attraction here and nothing detracts from that. Modern stadiums, flush with amenities are nice but they the sorely lack the history and soul of stadiums like the Rose Bowl. If you ever happen to be sitting here on New Year's Day watching a football game being played on green grass while looking out at mountain peaks in fall-like weather when most of those watching at home are wishing that they were you-then you'd know what I'm referring too!