UC Regents get support in dispute over UCLA contract to play at Rose Bowl

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment LLC and Stadco LA LLC have joined the UC Regents in asking a judge to compel arbitration of the Rose Bowl Operating Committee’s lawsuit concerning the dispute over UCLA’s contract to play at the historic venue.

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The RBOC and the city of Pasadena contend in their three contractual claims that UCLA is wrongfully exploring options for a new home football venue, specifically SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

In court papers filed Monday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner, the Kroenke-Stadco lawyers say the RBOC’s claim against their client is “predicated entirely” on the contractual claims against UCLA and the UC Regents.

“Under controlling California law, a signatory to an arbitration agreement that brings a claim against a nonsignatory premised on that agreement is bound by arbitration,” according to the Kroenke-Stadco’s attorneys’ court papers.

The Kroenke-Stadco defendants were added as defendants in an amended complaint filed Dec. 4, alleging that the UC Regents and the Kroenke-Stadco parties explored the possibility of relocating UCLA’s home football games to SoFi Stadium allegedly in breach of an agreement. A hearing on the UC Regents’ and the Kroenke-Stadco’s motions to compel arbitration is set for Jan. 22.

The suit originally filed Oct. 29 seeks to enforce the terms of a lease agreement the plaintiff claims locks UCLA into playing football at the venue until 2044. According to the lawsuit, UCLA has expressed its intent “to abandon the Rose Bowl Stadium and relocate its home football games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.”

“This is not only a clear break of the contract that governs the parties’ relationship, but it is also a profound betrayal of trust, of tradition and of the very community that helped build UCLA football,” the lawsuit states.