Fans Advised to Leave Early for UCLA-LSU Game Due to Freeway Closures

Bruin and Tiger fans headed to the Rose Bowl may want to get going a little early.

Los Angeles California Highway Patrol announced that all eastbound lanes on the I-210 would be closed for up to eight hours Saturday, adding a wrinkle into many people's travel plans for the matchup between UCLA football and LSU kicking off at 5:30 p.m. The city of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Stadium alerted fans to this change late Saturday morning, well after many people left to tailgate prior to the game.

🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/M6Uc772l6l
— Rose Bowl Stadium (@RoseBowlStadium) September 4, 2021

The lane closures are due to police activity around the Baldwin Ave. exit in Santa Anita. The I-210, also known as the Foothill Freeway, runs from Sylmar to the Redlands and is situated directly to the north and to the east of the Rose Bowl.

Just how many fans are slated to make the trip to the game is yet to be determined, but the general expectation is that attendance will see a tick up from last week's opener against Hawaii.

In Week 0, 32,982 fans were reported in attendance, but eye witness accounts and TV broadcast views showed far fewer than that in the actual stands during the game. It very narrowly avoided being a record-low for UCLA since the team moved to the Rose Bowl in 1980, but it was still the worst turnout since 1999.

A report from the Los Angeles Times claimed roughly 20,000 LSU fans were expected to show up Saturday. Free tickets were also offered to UCLA students, high school students, youth football players, active military members and veterans.

The offer extended to high school students, which also included a package of eight tickets for $30 a pop, had to be called off after 48 hours because all of the allotted tickets had been scooped up already.

Outside of students, kids, veterans and LSU fans, it still remains to be seen how many UCLA fans and alumni will wind up filling the bleachers.

With kickoff coming up, the answer to that question is just around the corner, so long as they all leave in a timely manner.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA football stories: UCLA Football on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA news stories: UCLA News on Sports Illustrated