College semi-final moves from Rose Bowl to AT&T in Texas

The college football semifinal, which was to be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on January 1, will move to the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Texas.

The measure was taken at a time when a ban on spectators entering California stadiums is in effect during the pandemic.

Bill Hancock, general manager of the college football playoffs, said Saturday night that conference commissioners charged with defining postseason games reached an agreement with Tournament of Roses to relocate the game, due to the “increasing number COVID-19 Cases in Southern California ”.

Tournament of Roses is the producer of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl, an annual football game that takes place in the stadium of the same name.

“The game in Dallas will allow us to continue doing it in the middle of the afternoon of the day in which the New Year is celebrated,” Hancock said in a statement. “We are pleased that the parents and loved ones of the students are able to see them play in the match.”

The decision was announced about 13 1/2 hours before the playoff games were defined. It marks the latest turnaround in a collegiate campaign severely disrupted by the pandemic.

The Rose Bowl, known as the granddaddy of all collegiate bowls, has been contested every year without interruption since 1916.

But in recent days, coaches and directors of different universities with teams that would contest the playoffs have complained that the Rose Bowl will not be able to receive the relatives of the athletes, due to restrictions due to COVID-19. State authorities are seeking to address a public health crisis that has put considerable pressure on hospitals.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly even suggested that if the Fighting Irish were chosen to play the Rose Bowl, they would boycott the match if the players’ families were not allowed to attend.

Organizers of the Rose Bowl asked state authorities for an exception to the restrictions, which was denied on two occasions, including once this week.

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