Rose Bowl Sues UCLA Over Alleged Plan to Relocate Football Games

The Bruins have drawn poorly of late at the historic venue.

UCLA and the Rose Bowl appear headed for a court fight. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's not often you see a college team move cities, but according to a new lawsuit from the Rose Bowl, UCLA is allegedly aiming to do just that.

The Rose Bowl has formally accused the Bruins of attempting to break their Rose Bowl lease in order to move home games to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., according to Thursday reports from Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times and Tony Kurzwell of KTLA-TV in Los Angeles that cited a court complaint.

Per Farmer, UCLA attorney David L. Schrader wrote in March that he did not believe discussions around a move would not "constitute a material breach of the (Bruins' Rose Bowl) lease," which runs through 2044.

"While we continue to evaluate the long-term arrangement for UCLA football home games, no decision has been made," university vice chancellor for strategic communications Mary Osako told SI in a statement.

UCLA has fought poor attendance at the Rose Bowl for several years; the 3-5 Bruins are drawing 35,253 fans per game this season, a decline of nearly 50% from just a decade ago. Pasadena, Calif., the home of the Rose Bowl, is about twice as far from UCLA's campus as Inglewood.

The Bruins have called the Rose Bowl home since 1982, when they moved there from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum—a venue they long shared with crosstown rival USC. They are currently the stadium's sole regular sports tenant outside of its eponymous bowl game, and have been since the Galaxy relocated to Carson, Calif., in 2003.

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