The Rose Bowl college football game on New Year's Day is moving to Arlington, Texas due to coronavirus restrictions in Southern California, the College Football Playoff and the Tournament of Roses announced over the weekend, CNN reported.
The move was made, in particular, because families of the teams would not be able to go to a game at the Rose Bowl after California stated it would not make a special exception, despite a request from college football authorities.
The match is one of this season's College Football Playoff semifinals, with the College Football Playoff Selection Committee announcing on Sunday that it would pit No. 4 Notre Dame against No. 1 Alabama, Yahoo reported.
The other semifinal features No 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly had threatened not to play in the game if parents were not allowed to be at the stadium, according to CBS News.
The Los Angeles Times reported that it is not yet clear if the contest will still be called by its same name, because Pasadena first would be required to sign off on another entity using the "Rose Bowl" moniker.
If the name of the contest is changed, it would be the first time in more than a century that the Rose Bowl would not be played, according to CBS News.
In addition, the Rose Bowl has not been played outside of Pasadena since 1942, when it was moved to North Carolina due to safety concerns after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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