GO Tour Rose Bowl Rules: Clear Bag Policy and What to Bring

Two days before GO Tour Unova, the Pokémon GO Tour Rose Bowl rules changed. The game announced a clear bag policy at the stadium, and a limit of one small battery per person.²

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In this guide 10 sections

A year earlier, at GO Tour Sinnoh, Cream and I walked in with our everyday sling bags. Under the new rules, those bags wouldn't have made it through the gate. For Unova, we switched to a small clear backpack, and it got through security.

The rules stuck. The 2026 list was the same, and it's long: no backpacks, no second battery, no chairs, and no umbrellas.

Pokémon GO Tour Rose Bowl Rules: My Quick Answer

• Bags: clear only. A clear plastic bag up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches, a 1-gallon freezer bag, or a small clutch. No regular backpacks, purses, or fanny packs.
• Batteries: one power bank each, about the size of your phone or smaller.
• Food and water: no outside food. Two sealed water bottles or an empty reusable one, with free refills inside.
• Leave at home: chairs, umbrellas, tents, coolers, wagons, spray cans, and selfie sticks.
• Strollers: allowed, just not on the stadium field.
• What we carry: a clear bag, an Anker battery pack, extra cords, our phone cooler, a collapsible water cup, and a clear poncho.
• Which year: these are the GO Tour Kalos rules from February 2026, the same as Unova in 2025. Check the official plan-your-trip page the week before you go.

Ready to book? These are the three hotels we'd pick.

For the whole weekend, Santa Monica is our first pick. Most trainers stay there, and playing Pokémon GO in Santa Monica is the best city play in LA. Little Tokyo comes next: the DoubleTree was our hotel for GO Tour Sinnoh, a short walk from the Metro line to Pasadena. If you're only coming for the park day, stay in Pasadena. From the Courtyard, the Rose Bowl is a short Uber away, so swapping a wrong bag won't cost you the morning. Each area's hotel prices are on the GO Tour LA hotel page.

The Rose Bowl Clear Bag Policy for GO Tour

For GO Tour, the Rose Bowl only lets in clear bags and very small clutches.¹ Anything else, even a small one, isn't on the list.

Allowed	Not allowed
Clear plastic bag, up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches	Backpacks
1-gallon plastic freezer bag	Purses and oversized totes
Clutch up to 4.5 x 6.5 inches, with a wrist or shoulder strap	Fanny packs
Diaper bag, when a child is with you	Mesh, tinted, or printed plastic bags
	Camera and binocular cases

What that means in practice:

• Buy the bag before you travel. A clear stadium bag fits flat in a suitcase. Hunting for one in Pasadena the night before is a bad way to spend GO Tour eve.
• Don't count on a bag check. The official guide asks you to arrive with an approved bag. If you came by Uber or the Metro, there's no car to leave the wrong one in.
• Pockets are free space. Phone, cards, and a cable can ride in your pockets, so the bag only has to hold the battery, the bottle, and sunscreen.

The One-Battery Rule

Each person can bring one portable battery, about the size of a smartphone or smaller. Extra or bigger batteries have to go back to your car.¹

• Hold it up to your phone. If the power bank is bigger than the phone, leave it at the hotel.
• It's one per person. Two of you means two batteries.
• The charging stations are outlets. PokéStop-shaped chargers around the stadium and golf course give you power outlets for your phone, so bring a wall plug and a cable to use them.
• Count the phone cooler. Ours runs off a small battery pack, so it counts toward the limit.
• Don't count on a pass. We brought both our Ankers anyway, and nobody stopped us. But rules, and how strictly they're checked, can change from year to year, so pack for the rule.

In Tokyo, you can rent a power bank at almost any convenience store, one of our tips for Pokémon GO in Tokyo. At the Rose Bowl, the battery you walk in with is the one you've got.

Can You Bring Food Into the Rose Bowl?

No. Outside food isn't allowed at GO Tour, unless you have a medical dietary need.¹

• Water: two factory-sealed bottles under 1 liter, or up to two empty reusable bottles.
• Refills: free water stations and fountains around the golf course and the stadium.
• Food inside: vendors sell meals and snacks, with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
• Medicine: insulin and other medication are fine with a prescription label in your name.
• Not allowed: cans, glass bottles, alcohol, and coolers. A cooler can be allowed for a medical need.

We skip the big water bottle. We bring collapsible silicone water cups and fill them at the stations when we need a drink (more on that in the packing list below).

What You Can't Bring, and What to Bring Instead

The banned list is long, and a few items catch people out because they're the obvious answer to sun and rain.¹

Not allowed	Bring this instead
Umbrella	A poncho for rain, a hat for sun
Chair or a seat cushion with a metal frame	A towel or blanket to sit on
Tent, canopy, or shade structure	Sunscreen, a hat, and a tree
Cooler (the ice chest kind)	An empty reusable water bottle
Spray sunscreen or any aerosol	Sealed lotion sunscreen
Selfie stick, tripod, monopod, or GoPro mount	Just your phone
Camera with a lens longer than 3.5 inches	A point-and-shoot camera
Wagon	A stroller (kept off the field)
Bike, scooter, or skateboard inside	Ride there, then walk
Pets	Service animals only

Also on the list: balls and toys, flags and poles, noisemakers, drones, laser pointers, helium balloons, and vapes.

Filming the day? Our DJI camera wasn't allowed in the park. It stays in the hotel on park day and comes out on city days.

The "coolers" rule means ice chests, not phone coolers. Phone coolers aren't on the list, and we had ours at the park.

Rose Bowl Stroller Policy and Tips for Families

Strollers are allowed at GO Tour. You can't park one in an aisle or under a seat, and it can't go on the stadium field.¹

We saw lots of families at both GO Tours, mostly with older kids. A few rules matter for families:

• Bags: a diaper bag counts as an approved bag when a child is with you.
• Tickets: a parent or guardian buys a ticket for themselves and for each child coming. The GO Tour Los Angeles guide has the ticket types and add-ons.
• Helpers: minors and anyone who needs support can bring up to two companions without tickets.
• Distance: the route is about 1.3 miles over grass and paths, and it gets muddy in the rain.
• Family restrooms and a place to nurse: ask at the Information Booth.
• A lost child: tell the nearest security guard. In 2026 you could also text 626-400-5119.
• No wagons. They're on the banned list, so a stroller is the way to carry a tired kid.

Our GO Tour Packing List

This is exactly what Cream and I carry, and wear, on the park day. You're outside from the morning line until play ends at 5 p.m., so it all has to fit in a clear bag.

1. A Clear Bag // Ours Is a Small Clear Backpack

This is the one item that can stop you at the gate. In 2024, before the rule, we carried our everyday sling bags. Since 2025, it's a small clear backpack with a Pikachu plush clipped to it, and it got through security in 2025. The official list says no backpacks, though, so keep yours small and fully see-through.

2. An Anker Battery Pack // Plus Extra Cords

Your phone runs the game, the camera, and the group chat all day. We use Anker battery packs: a large one for our phones and a smaller one for the phone cooler. We always bring extra cords too. With the one-battery rule, check the size before you pack it.

3. A Phone Cooler // Ours Has Lasted Three Years

A hot phone dims the screen, slows down, and drains faster. Cream and I have used the same Black Shark phone cooler for three years of events, GO Fest Japan included. Our phones didn't overheat once at the Rose Bowl. The cooler and battery we use are in our Amazon shop.

4. A Collapsible Water Cup // Not a Big Bottle

We bring collapsible silicone water cups instead of water bottles. We fill them up at the water stations when we need a drink, so we're not carrying a huge bottle around all day. Refills are free.

5. A Clear Poncho // Your Phone Works Under It

February is Pasadena's rainiest month, with about 4.5 inches on average.³ The event goes ahead in the rain, and bad weather doesn't get you a refund. Umbrellas aren't allowed, so a poncho is the rain plan.

We use clear ponchos, and they work great. You can hold your phone under the poncho and still see the screen.

6. A Hat and Sunscreen // The Seats Are All in the Sun

Sitting in the stands won't save you, because they're in full sun. The only real shade is under the few trees on the lawns. What to expect on the Rose Bowl park day covers the heat, the lines, and our favorite moments. Bring lotion sunscreen, since spray cans aren't allowed.

In the park, we wear our Pikachu hats. We got them for free, and they're my favorite thing to wear. They're so fun. But we never brought a real hat, and I wish we had. Bring one.

7. Crocs, Shorts, and a Shirt // Dress for the Afternoon

That's what we wear. Pasadena's long-run February average is 68°F (20°C) by day and 44°F (7°C) at night, so the morning line is cold. We just managed, because it warms up fast and you're walking a lot.

The park runs from the golf course to the stadium, and you'll cross it many times. By the end, my feet were tired, and we're used to walking all day. Get your legs ready before the event. Our GO Tour tips cover how we prepare.

8. A Pokémon GO Plus + // For Raid-Heavy Hours

We carry a GO Plus + so it spins stops and catches while we're busy raiding. Our plan for when to raid, catch, and hatch lays out the whole day, hour by hour.

9. Data That Works in the US // Signal Gets Busy

Tens of thousands of phones in one park can make the signal act up. We're on T-Mobile, and it mostly holds up. Coming from overseas? Your home plan may not cover the US, so set up an Airalo eSIM before your flight and have data the minute you land at LAX.

What Changes on City Days

On city days, we pack the same bag, the same cooler, and the same water cups, plus even more batteries. The one-battery rule only applies at the park. Our DJI camera and mics come out too.

Getting Through Security Faster

Getting in is simple. You show your in-game ticket to the staff at the gate, then you go through a security scan.

• Get there early. We line up 30 minutes to an hour before the start.
• Screenshot your ticket anyway. Your ticket is the badge in the game, and the staff want to see the real one in the app. We still keep a screenshot ready, just in case the app acts up at the gate.
• Take things out before the scanner. Allowed items like water bottles, cameras, and sunscreen can still set it off, so the official guide asks you to pull them out of your bag first.
• Re-entry means another scan. You can leave and come back all day, but you go through security each time.
• Medical sharps go in the disposal at the Public Safety Building next to Gate B, or at the medical area on the golf course.

The Rules That Matter Most

The list looks long, but it comes down to a clear bag, one battery, and no chairs or umbrellas. Get those right, and you can spend the morning line planning your route instead of worrying about the gate.

Next Steps for Your GO Tour Trip

• Plan the whole trip with our complete guide to GO Tour Los Angeles.
• See what the Rose Bowl park day is really like, from the morning line to 5 p.m.
• Choose your base: where to stay for GO Tour LA.
• Thinking about an event in Asia too? See how GO Fest Japan compares.
• Dreaming of Japan? These are our favorite Pokémon GO spots in Tokyo.