The decadeslong relationship between UCLA and the Rose Bowl—one of the oldest and most recognizable stadiums in college football—is getting rocky.
On Wednesday, the City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl filed a lawsuit against the school alleging that the Bruins attempted to breach their contract to play football games at the stadium. The news was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleged UCLA tried to move home football games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the home of the Chargers and Rams, instead of the Rose Bowl. It says that Pasadena taxpayers have paid $150 million for stadium renovations, and financed $130 million in bonds. The lawsuit claims the monetary damages to the city of Pasadena if UCLA were to abandon the Rose Bowl could exceed $1 billion.
“For decades, Pasadena and its residents have poured their hearts—and millions of
taxpayer dollars—into sustaining and celebrating this partnership,” the complaint, which spans 200 pages, read. “The City has invested not only in infrastructure, but in shared identity. Now, UCLA has chosen to cast that aside, unequivocally expressing its intent to abandon the Rose Bowl Stadium and relocate its home football games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood unless this Court intervenes.”
In a statement shared with Front Office Sports, the City of Pasadena called the lawsuit “an unfortunate but necessary step” to enforce the lease agreement. “Notwithstanding the clear language of the lease, a representative from UCLA has notified the City and the Rose Bowl of UCLA’s intent to take steps that will breach the agreement—an agreement that was signed back in 2010 and amended in 2014. The City expects UCLA will honor the terms of the agreement.”
In response to the lawsuit, UCLA Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications, Mary Osako, said in a statement shared with FOS: “While we continue to evaluate the long-term arrangement for UCLA Football home games, no decision has been made.”
UCLA has called the Rose Bowl its home since the early 1980s. But in recent years, the relationship has faltered. The Rose Bowl is 26 miles from UCLA’s campus (SoFi, on the other hand, is 12 miles—still not quite close), and the combination of brutal traffic conditions and UCLA’s less-than-ideal on-field performance (3-5 this season) has made it challenging for fans, and especially students, to attend.
This season, the Bruins have averaged fewer than 36,000 fans per game, less than half stadium capacity.
