Rose Bowl, city file restraining order to keep UCLA from ending lease

LOS ANGELES — The city of Pasadena, California, and the Rose Bowl Operating Company filed a request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday attempting to prevent UCLA from leaving the Rose Bowl Stadium and ending its lease until pending litigation against the school is resolved.

“There is no way to sugarcoat it: UCLA has confirmed its imminent departure, severely destabilizing Plaintiffs’ core operations,” the filing states. “Those operations are structured around and contingent upon UCLA.”

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Last week, the City of Pasadena and the RBOC filed a lawsuit against UCLA to attempt to force the school to honor the terms of their lease with the venue. The current lease requires them to continue to play their home games at the Rose Bowl through 2043.

In Monday’s filing, the plaintiffs point out that the lease agreement “expressly prohibits UCLA from conducting any home football games in any facility located in the Los Angeles [area] or in Orange County, other than the [Rose Bowl Stadium]” and claim they would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm” if UCLA is not forced to keep the status quo of the lease during the lawsuit.

The Rose Bowl, a designated National Historic Landmark with a seating capacity of about 89,000, has been home to UCLA games since 1982. But the program is attempting to move its games to the newer SoFi Stadium, which is 14 miles closer to the school’s campus and has a capacity of 70,240. This season, the average attendance for the Bruins (3-6, 3-3 Big Ten) in their five home games is roughly 39,000.

In response to the lawsuit filed last week, UCLA said in a statement provided to ESPN that they “continue to evaluate the long-term arrangement for UCLA football home games” and that “no decision has been made.”

When reached following Monday’s filing, UCLA declined to comment. A hearing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday morning.