Fans crowded the Rose Bowl ticket offices to watch the most awaited friendly soccer match-up of Mexico’s World Cup team with New Zealand.

“We knew it would be a pretty good crowd, but in the past four or five days demand has gone through the roof,” Rose Bowl General Manager Darryl Dunn said Tuesday. Original crowd estimates were 40,000 to 50,000, Dunn said.

“What happened was Mexico played Bolivia in San Francisco last week and won 5-0, and that got peopleexcited,” Dunn said. “But what got them over the top was when they announced the line-up of players – the same team that will be playing in the World Cup. “The fans said, `Wow,’ and now we’re expecting 70,000 at the game,” he added.

The stadium is “ready to go” for the World Cup warm-up, Dunn said, and the focus now is on traffic control and encouraging fans to get there early.

Parking lots will open at noon, he said, and parking restrictions and traffic control will be similar to a UCLA football game.

“The (soccer) event is going on mid-week, on a work day, and the event traffic will co-mingle with commuter traffic,” Dunn said. “The game starts at 8 p.m., which was intentional, and that helps.

Dunn said he hopes the interactive Futbol Fiesta planned outside the Rose Bowl will encourage fans to get an early start on the whole experience.

Leland “Lee” Zanteson, president of the neighborhood Linda Vista/Annandale Association, said “It happens maybe once a year, maybe every other year.”

“We do that if there’s anything of significance, but we do try to limit it,” Zanteson said, adding that they probably would not send e-mails out in this instance.

“We don’t want to inundate people … and they knew this was going to be a mess anyway,” he joked.

“The (Winter) Olympics were wonderful, but from a global perspective, the World Cup is up there, and having a bigger crowd is positive as well,” Dunn said. “It’s very important for the Rose Bowl’s future that the international soccer element continues to be a big part of the stadium, and an event like this is very significant.”

Watch the Mexico VS New Zealand Live Stream.

(Photo and article from pasadenastarnews)