Rose Bowl sues UCLA over alleged plan to move football games to SoFi

The Rose Bowl Operating Company and the City of Pasadena filed a lawsuit against UCLA on Wednesday, accusing the university of attempting to relocate its football team to SoFi Stadium.

The complaint claims UCLA has been “unequivocally expressing its intent to abandon the Rose Bowl Stadium and relocate its home football games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,” calling the move “a profound betrayal of trust,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Officials from Pasadena have stated that taxpayer investments in Rose Bowl renovations have exceeded $150 million, with an additional $130 million in bonds recently refinanced to fund additional upgrades and improvements.

UCLA’s lease on the Rose Bowl runs through 2044, but criticism over low attendance has reportedly prompted discussions about a move. The average attendance for UCLA’s four home games this season is 35,253, according to the Daily Bruin.

“Spokespeople for UCLA Athletics, the Rose Bowl Operating Company board and the City of Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo did not respond in time to a request for comment,” the university’s newspaper said.

Although no formal response has come, the Times reports that UCLA outside counsel David L. Schrader wrote in a March letter that the preliminary talks contemplating a move “do not constitute a material breach” of the lease.

The Bruins have played football at the Rose Bowl since relocating from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1982.