When reached by Pasadena Now earlier this month a city official would not comment on reports that the city has now entered settlement talks with UCLA.
“We cannot comment on pending litigation,” said Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian.
The reports surfaced after the city’s fight to keep UCLA at the Rose Bowl survived a court challenge.
The dispute centers on the Restated Rose Bowl Agreement, which Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company say requires UCLA to play its home football games at the Rose Bowl through 2044. Pasadena and the operating company contend that UCLA’s alleged move toward playing at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood violated that agreement and created uncertainty affecting the Rose Bowl’s finances, operations, vendor relationships and long-term planning.
Reportedly, the university would make money on premium searing, which it does not currently make at the Rose Bowl.
UCLA has disputed the claims.
The contract came after a failed effort to place an initiative on the ballot that would have allowed the City Council to negotiate with the NFL to bring a team to the iconic stadium.
Judge Joseph Lipner ruling allows Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company to pursue most of their claims against UCLA and the SoFi-related defendants, while refusing to consider UCLA’s late anti-SLAPP motion on the merits.
The court’s ruling preserves the chance to test its claims in court. For UCLA, it means the university must continue defending against most of the lawsuit. For the stadium defendants, it means they remain exposed to a claim that they interfered with the Rose Bowl relationship.
The next scheduled court marker is July 21, when the case management conference is set to resume. By then, the parties may be moving closer to the next phase of litigation: the exchange of evidence, the testing of allegations and the fuller airing of what UCLA and the stadium defendants did or did not do.
After the ruling, published reports surfaced that the city and the Rose Bowl have entered settlement talks that would keep the Bruins playing in the iconic stadium through the end of a lease that runs through the 2043 season,” the post reported earlier this month.
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