Small businesses continued turning to the U.S. Small Business Administration for commercial credit in record numbers through the first three quarters of FY 2005, reflecting their confidence in the U.S. economy and the stability of the SBAloan program that backs their loans.

Small businesses secured SBA backing under the agency's flagship 7(a) program for 71,131 loans through the first nine months of the fiscal year, a 21 percent increase over the same period a year ago and a 49 percent increase over the same period two years ago.

The loans made so far this year amount to $11.1 billion, 19.5 percent more than in the same period last year, and on a clear pace for a record-setting year for the program.

In 1902, the Tournament of Roses® Association decided to enhance the day's festivities by adding a football game. Stanford University accepted the invitation to take on the powerhouse University of Michigan, but the west coast team was flattened 49-0 and gave up in the third quarter. The lopsided score prompted the Tournament to give up football in favor of Roman-style chariot races. Rose Bowl Tickets In 1916, football returned to stay and the crowds soon outgrew the stands in Tournament Park. William L. Leishman, the Tournament's 1920 President, envisioned a stadium similar to the Yale Bowl, the first great modern football stadium. He enlisted the help of architect Myron Hunt and builder William A Taylor, and together they made plans for a stadium in Pasadena's Arroyo Seco area.

The original stadium, a 57,000-seat horseshoe open on the south end, cost $272,198.26. The Tournament financed the project by offering ten-year subscription tickets for $100 each. Once it was completed, it was deeded to the city of Pasadena.

Local newspaper reporter Harlan "Dusty" Hall, who also served as the Tournament's press agent, came up with the name "Rose Bowl" for the stadium, and on January 1, 1923, the Tournament held its first football game there.

The stadium grew with the Rose Bowl Game's popularity. In 1928, the south end was filled in, increasing the seating capacity to 76,000. Further enlargements took place in 1932 (83,677), 1949 (100,807) and 1972 (104,696). The current seating capacity is approximately 93,000, although stadium room was found for a record crowd of 106,869 on January 1, 1973.

"We had a record year for this loan program a year ago, and we're going to set another record in 2005," said SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto. "It tells us that the critics are wrong, that small businesses are confident enough to invest in the future of the American economy, and that this program is here to help them do it. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of the self-funded footing on which the President has placed the loan program, and the confidence that lenders have in its stability. I am very pleased with this performance so far this year."

The gains are also reflected in the SBA's Certified Development Company, or 504, loan program. Through the first nine months of the fiscal year, the 504 program had issued 6,434 loans worth $3.44 billion, more than 6 percent ahead of the same period a year ago, when the program had produced 6,058 loans for $2.88 billion.

The budget for the current year makes more than $21 billion available to small businesses through the two loan programs, including $16 billion in small business lending under the 7(a) program and $5 billion under the 504 program.

For information on applying for an SBA loan, visit the SBA's extensive Web site