Why the Rose Bowl is reportedly suing a major college football program

There appears to be some bad blood between college football's most famous venue and the school that plays there, but could be looking for a way out.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The city of Pasadena, California, and the company that operates the historic Rose Bowl Stadium are looking to take UCLA to court for allegedly trying to move its home football games from the iconic venue to another nearby stadium, according to The Los Angeles Times.

UCLA has played its home games at the Rose Bowl since 1982, but is reportedly seeking an arrangement to move its football matchups to the newer SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, currently the home of the city’s two NFL franchises, the Chargers and Rams.

What the Rose Bowl alleges

“This lawsuit arises in an era when money too often eclipses meaning and the pursuit of profit threatens to erase the very traditions that breathe life into institutions,” the lawsuit claims, according to the report.

It added: “Some commitments are too fundamental to be traded away.”

UCLA’s current lease with the Rose Bowl runs through 2044, according to reports.

Pasadena officials say that taxpayers have put more than $150 million into renovations at the Rose Bowl, according to the Times report.

What UCLA said

In response, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications Mary Osako denied that the school had made any decisions over the future of its football venue.

“While we continue to evaluate the long-term arrangement for UCLA Football home games, no decision has been made,” Osako told the Times.

The lawsuit alleges that if UCLA were to leave the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the SoFi Stadium across town, those who live in the Pasadena area would suffer up to $1 billion in total monetary damages.

UCLA at the Rose Bowl

UCLA has played four home games at the historic Rose Bowl this football season so far, and has averaged just over 35,000 fans during those matchups.

If that number were to stay stable over the rest of the regular season, it would represent a program-low for the Bruins in the decades they have played there.

Of course, the product UCLA has put on the field has hardly warranted too much support from fans, winning 10 games in a season only as recently as 2014, and having matched that number only three times so far this century.

This season, the Bruins started 0-3, resulting in the dismissal of head coach Deshaun Foster, who went 5-10 during his short time with the program.

But since then, the team has enjoyed a revival of sorts, going 3-1 with a marquee upset against Penn State, but that run ended with a 50-point loss at Indiana last weekend.

UCLA is off this coming weekend, but returns to the Rose Bowl on Nov. 8 against Big Ten challenger Nebraska.

(L.A. Times)