Billionaire NFL Owner Battles With City Over SoFi Stadium
(Bloomberg) — Stan Kroenke, the billionaire owner of the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams, first took aim at billboards that his lawyers say threaten the prosperity of his $5.5 billion sports and entertainment complex in the nation’s second-largest metropolis.
When that didn’t work out in court, their company found another reason to sue the city of Inglewood, home of the Rams and home to SoFi Stadium, which is hosting this year’s World Cup games, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympic events. Kroenke’s companies now claim the city is penalizing them with nearly $400 million they spent on public roads, sewers and other infrastructure, as well as police and fire protection.
As the dispute escalates in Los Angeles Superior Court, Kroenke’s companies say their project “literally saved the city from bankruptcy” while Inglewood’s lawyers argue that “billionaires are not above the law.”
Kroenke, whose net worth is almost $27 billion, developed the 300-acre area known as Hollywood Park without public financing, a rarity for such a large sports facility. But his lawyers argue that the city is undercutting its investment in the complex, which opened in 2021 and includes the stadium, the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater, and office, retail and residential buildings about four miles east of Los Angeles International Airport.
The fight began after Inglewood approved a contract with WOW Media in April to install up to 60 digital billboards around Hollywood Park, which would share advertising revenue with the city.
Kroenke’s companies complained that the deal violated terms of a 2015 development agreement that banned billboards near the SoFi complex and diverted money from his investment while benefiting from traffic to the billionaire’s venues. They argued the signs would undermine private sponsorships and enable “ambush marketing” at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Ultimately, a judge rejected claims to block the WOW media deal and said the development agreement with the city was invalid because it was improperly enacted.
“We have the right to use public land for whatever we want to do,” Inglewood Mayor James Butts said in an interview. “I don’t see any legal argument that would give them control over what we do on city land.”
In a more recent complaint, Kroenke’s companies argue that the city should still reimburse them $376 million for public improvements; These payments cannot be made to city meters because there is no valid development agreement.
“This is not about SoFi and what’s already been built,” said city attorney Louis “Skip” Miller. “This is about the onward payment of public funds to a private party – for which the law requires a valid agreement.”
A spokesman for Kroenke’s Hollywood Park said the city’s decision to unilaterally void the development agreement after a decade was unlawful.
“Hollywood Park has been committed to the City of Inglewood for more than a decade, successfully developing a global destination that provides significant economic benefits to the community, including jobs, housing, infrastructure and world-class events,” according to the spokesperson. “Hollywood Park was forced to take legal action because the city refused to comply with the agreement.”
Hollywood Park neighbors the Intuit Dome, a $2 billion arena developed by retired Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer and home to the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team since 2024. Extravagant venues, including the Kia Forum, formerly home to the Los Angeles Lakers, have earned Inglewood the nickname “The City of Champions.” Ballmer’s companies also sued over the billboards.
Kroenke’s team has a history of rough play with their city. He led the Rams to St. Louis in 2016. He moved it from St. Louis to Los Angeles, which led to years of litigation that resulted in a $790 million settlement. The Rams will face the Carolina Panthers in a wild card playoff game on Saturday.
The case is Pincay Re LLC v. City of Inglewood, 25TRCV04256, Los Angeles County Superior Court.
(Updated with Hollywood Park description from paragraph 11.)
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