Rose Bowl swimsuit accuses UCLA of attempting to maneuver video games to SoFi Stadium

The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co. filed a lawsuit Wednesday evening to drive UCLA to honor the remaining 20 years of its contract and hold Bruin soccer video games within the historic stadium by means of 2044.

The grievance, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court towards UCLA and the University of California Regents, alleges that the college has been “unequivocally expressing its intent to abandon the Rose Bowl Stadium and relocate its home football games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,” and calls that “a profound betrayal of trust.”

UCLA’s lease runs by means of June 30, 2044, and Pasadena officers say taxpayers have invested greater than $150 million in stadium renovations, whereas just lately refinancing one other $130 million in bonds for extra capital enhancements.

“This lawsuit arises in an era when money too often eclipses meaning and the pursuit of profit threatens to erase the very traditions that breathe life into institutions,” the submitting reads.

“Some commitments are too fundamental to be traded away.”

The submitting alleges that UCLA, after years of public assurances that it’s staying, has now “chosen to disregard those promises” and has formally notified the plaintiffs that it’s “moving on” and that “there’s no way we’re staying long term.”

Although UCLA has but to file a proper response to the lawsuit, the college disputed the allegations in an exhibit included within the submitting. In a letter to Pasadena’s legal professional, Nima Mohebbi, UCLA exterior counsel David L. Schrader wrote in March that the college has not violated the settlement and that “preliminary discussions” that ponder a transfer “do not constitute a material breach for which RBOC would be entitled to a legal or equitable remedy.”

Schrader wrote that UCLA “continues to evaluate strategic goals and how to be fiscally responsible and best fulfill its mission.”

The lawsuit asks for a courtroom order that requires UCLA to honor the whole lot of its lease.

The submitting contends that it might be devastating to Pasadena and the stadium had been UCLA to violate the settlement, that the hurt precipitated to town and its residents “could easily exceed a billion dollars (or more),” and that financial damages may by no means really treatment UCLA’s conduct.

A UCLA athletic division spokesperson didn’t instantly reply Wednesday evening to a request for remark.

Home attendance at a stadium situated 26 miles from campus has been a deepening concern in current seasons for UCLA. The workforce has averaged 35,253 followers for its 4 dwelling video games this season, placing it on observe for an all-time low on the Rose Bowl.

The Bruins’ 5 worst dwelling season-attendance figures since shifting to the Rose Bowl in 1982 have come during the last 5 seasons not interrupted by COVID-19, together with 46,805 in 2024. That determine ranked sixteenth among the many 18 Big Ten Conference groups, forward of solely Maryland and Northwestern, which was enjoying at a brief lakeside stadium seating simply 12,023.

Staff author Ben Bolch contributed to this report.