Ten years ago, the city of Inglewood cut a deal with Stan Kroenke to build SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Park complex of businesses and real estate. The deal also included hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements that Kroenke and his businesses agreed to front.
In July 2025, Mayor James Butts wrote a letter to Kroenke claiming the contract was “not legal.”
A judge effectively agreed with him earlier this month, ruling the deal void.
So what actually changes when an agreement of this scale is no longer valid?
It’s unclear. And more than a year after he first made the claim and two weeks after the ruling, Butts said city officials still aren’t sure either.
For Butts and the rest of the Inglewood City Council, the ruling challenges them to rebuild a framework with SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park amid an active NFL season and with the 2028 Olympics on the horizon.
That process is currently stalled by uncertainty about what a new legal framework will be built on and how much of the original development agreement can be included.
The stadium is still operating. So what actually changed?
The Rams and Chargers are still playing at SoFi Stadium. Usher, Chris Brown and Bruno Mars are scheduled to perform there next week.
Without the development agreement, there are questions about how the city and Hollywood Park will handle money going forward, including whether Kroenke and his businesses are still entitled to reimbursements and whether the city can continue collecting tax revenue from events in the same way.
Butts said the city is researching whether the 2009 Hollywood Park Specific Plan, which was the basis for the 2015 agreement, is now in effect, or whether even earlier zoning and business rules for stadiums and entertainment venues apply. The city is also looking into whether the 2015 changes to its admissions tax code are still in effect.
Meanwhile, Butts said the city is talking with Hollywood Park developers about a new development agreement. The stadium businesses could also appeal the court decision.
“It’s hopeful we can come to a resolution that allows most of the agreement to remain intact,” Butts said.
A Hollywood Park spokesperson told The LA Local in a statement that it has honored its commitments under the development agreement and believes the city has not held up its end of the deal.
The spokesperson also said Hollywood Park will continue operating SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater and the Hollywood Park development while it evaluates the impact of the city’s position. The company described itself as a “good partner” to Inglewood residents.
“We hope and expect that the City’s leadership will come to its senses and reaffirm the promises and agreements it made to Hollywood Park in the Development Agreement,” the spokesperson said.
The city’s lawsuit over the development agreement came as part of a larger court battle with the stadiums over the city’s video billboards. Butts told Kroenke last year that the city discovered the contract’s legal issues while reviewing claims Kroenke’s team had made in its billboard lawsuits.
He claimed that the city should be given back a $20 million infrastructure reimbursement payment it had recently made. He asked the Rams owner to negotiate, but didn’t detail what might replace the development agreement.
“Obviously, this raises a number of very serious issues impacting both parties,” Butts said. Not long after that, Kroenke’s businesses sued the city over Butts’ claim in December 2025.
Kroenke’s businesses fronted $400 million for Inglewood infrastructure, expecting repayment
Kroenke’s businesses agreed, according to the 2015 contract, to install, replace or improve several storm drains, water, sewer and electrical utility lines. They widened roads and upgraded the city’s traffic light system.
They built parks that are only partially accessible to the public, like Champions Plaza and Lake Park. They contributed to upgrading a radar system associated with Los Angeles International Airport. And they had agreed on a cost-sharing plan for extra police staffing needed for events and games.
The city had agreed to begin paying Kroenke back after its share of stadium revenue surpassed $25 million in any given year. Kroenke’s businesses claimed that the city’s bill had reached about $400 million.
What could a new deal look like for Inglewood?
What’s at stake is not only the infrastructure debt but also the city’s ability to renegotiate the financial terms of the deal.
The development agreement established zoning and other code requirements that determined costs for planned development on the site.
Hollywood Park argued in the suit that Inglewood tried to charge new fees, like one for a restaurant development in 2025. It’s unclear what the status of that dispute is, but Hollywood Park had been arguing that the development agreement prevented the city from pursuing it. The new fees could amount to big cost increases for future developments planned for the site.
Skip Miller, one of the city’s attorneys on the case, did not answer questions about what legal framework exists in the development agreement’s absence.
“One way or another, the City of Inglewood and its residents are going to be far better off than before,” Miller said. “They will not be paying the $400 million claim and expect to receive a lot more than ever in tax revenues and other benefits.”
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