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{"id":24810,"date":"2026-06-25T17:47:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/inglewood-wins-a-legal-victory-over-its-most-famous-building\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T17:47:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:47:15","slug":"inglewood-wins-a-legal-victory-over-its-most-famous-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/inglewood-wins-a-legal-victory-over-its-most-famous-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Inglewood wins a legal victory over its most famous building"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>LOS ANGELES \u2014 The World Cup was supposed to be a moment of unalloyed triumph for the city of Inglewood and the owner of SoFi Stadium, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/06\/18\/world-cup-los-angeles-olympics-test-00966709\" target=\"_blank\">the signature sports venue<\/a> where the United States will play its final group-stage match today, against Turkey. <\/p>\n<p>But the estranged partners have been embroiled in a long-simmering legal dispute, and now Inglewood has emerged with a victory in court that could have major ramifications for California property-rights law long after the soccer world has moved on from the city.<\/p>\n<p>Hollywood Park, the sprawling mixed-use property that includes the $5 billion-plus stadium <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/27\/arts\/music\/inglewood-hollywood-park-sofi-stadium.html\" target=\"_blank\">filed two lawsuits against the city<\/a> after it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityofinglewood.org\/AgendaCenter\/ViewFile\/Item\/18832?fileID=26318\" target=\"_blank\">struck a deal last year<\/a> with digital billboard company WOW Media to install signs in Inglewood, including near the stadium.<\/p>\n<p>In one complaint, Hollywood Park, which is controlled by Stan Kroenke \u2014 the billionaire who also owns the Los Angeles Rams, SoFi\u2019s marquee occupant \u2014 alleged that the city\u2019s billboard deal \u201csiphons\u201d money from its property. In its second lawsuit, Hollywood Park sought <a href=\"https:\/\/gvwire.com\/2026\/05\/27\/400-million-showdown-between-la-rams-owner-and-inglewood-mayor\/\" target=\"_blank\">about $400 million from Inglewood<\/a> that it said it was owed for public infrastructure upgrades and other improvements, arguing the city was required to reimburse those costs once certain tax revenue thresholds were met.<\/p>\n<p>But the city countered that the development agreement cited by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.claimsjournal.com\/news\/national\/2026\/01\/12\/335018.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Hollywood Park was unenforceable<\/a> because it was adopted through an initiative approved by voters \u2014 and not a legislative body, the far more common route.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Inglewood has prevailed. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20260624563610\/en\/Miller-Barondess-Wins-High-Stakes-Battle-for-the-City-of-Inglewood-Against-Hollywood-ParkSoFi-Stadium-and-The-ForumIntuit-Dome\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Superior Court<\/a> judge upheld, in a ruling dated Tuesday, the long-term agreement between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyjournal.com\/article\/392417-inglewood-wins-high-stakes-battle-over-event-district-advertising\" target=\"_blank\">the billboard company and the city<\/a>, affirming that it did not violate the law.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Blue Light News, Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts sought to lower the temperature, extolling Hollywood Park as a \u201cgreat partner,\u201d adding that \u201cthere is no animosity between\u201d the city and the property owner. And he said that the litigation has not put a damper on enthusiasm for the World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>SoFi, which opened in 2020, is drawing <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/sofi-stadium-shines-world-cup-021510181.html\" target=\"_blank\">praise from soccer fans<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.knoxnews.com\/story\/sports\/2026\/06\/23\/fifa-world-cup-turf-conditions-players-split\/90597349007\/\" target=\"_blank\">athletes alike<\/a>. Tens of thousands of visitors have poured into Inglewood, a city of roughly 100,000 just southwest of Los Angeles, and the games have unfolded without major incident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re appreciative for the partnership that we\u2019ve had\u201d with Hollywood Park, Butts said. \u201cAnd I believe that these issues will be worked out as they should be \u2014 during negotiation. This is just a great time for us, and it\u2019s a great time for SoFi.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, a Hollywood Park spokesperson said that the developer would appeal the court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe respectfully disagree with the Court\u2019s decision regarding the City\u2019s long-term agreement with WOW and continue to believe that leasing public rights-of-way in this manner is inconsistent with state and municipal law,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201c&#8230;Despite the court\u2019s decision, Hollywood Park remains committed to continuing its investment in Inglewood and supporting the community\u2019s long-term success.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>WOW CEO Scott Krantz said in a statement that the company was pleased with the court\u2019s \u201cdecisive ruling,\u201d adding that the agreement with Inglewood delivers \u201csignificant, ongoing revenue\u201d to the city. \u201cWOW has enjoyed a long, successful, and mutually beneficial partnership with Inglewood, and we look forward to strengthening that relationship in the years ahead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Butts characterized the skirmish with Hollywood Park as a \u201cbusiness dispute,\u201d adding that the city has \u201cthe right to self-determination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reality is even the best of partners will have business disputes,\u201d he said, noting that SoFi Stadium, also home to the Los Angeles Chargers, will co-host the 2028 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/06\/18\/world-cup-los-angeles-olympics-test-00966709\" target=\"_blank\">Summer Olympics opening ceremony and swimming events<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Butts said he might attend a forthcoming World Cup match at SoFi, which will host the U.S. team\u2019s game on Thursday against Turkey. \u201cI likely will,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not what I\u2019m here for \u2014 to go to games. I\u2019m here to oversee the city\u2019s public safety and quality of life, and parking and traffic response. That\u2019s the thrill for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Inglewood also prevailed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/Articles\/2026\/06\/08\/sofi-stadium-inglewood-dispute-billboards-and-reimbursement-payments-in-legal-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\">a similar legal challenge<\/a> from the owner of Intuit Dome, a nearby arena developed by billionaire Steve Ballmer that is home to his Los Angeles Clippers. A representative of Intuit Dome did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES \u2014 The World Cup was supposed to be a moment of unalloyed triumph for the city of Inglewood and the owner of SoFi Stadium, the signature sports venue where the United States will play its final group-stage match today, against Turkey. But the estranged partners have been embroiled in a long-simmering legal dispute, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24810\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}