Rams Owner Stan Kroenke In $400 Million California Legal Battle

In the five years since it opened, Stan Kroenke's SoFi Stadium has become one of the epicenters of American sports, hosting two NFL teams, a Super Bowl, college football national title games, WrestleMania, concerts and will be a host site for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. But as the Los Angeles Rams owner eyes improvements to the site, he's going to battle with the city over who will pay for them.

According to The Athletic, Kroenke is seeking $400 million from the city of Inglewood, California, citing an 11-year-old agreement with the city that Inglewood claims was overturned by the courts. The city of Inglewood further disputes the amount of money Kroenke's team claims it's owed.

The stadium is owned by Kroenke's StadCo LA company and Hollywood Park Land Company and was reportedly built without public funds, unlike most current stadium projects.

Per ProFootballtalk, Hollywood Park has warned about the dangers of not giving the money the company says it's owed.

"If the city's agreements can now be revisited or undone after years of economic growth and community benefit, it raises fundamental questions about the reliability of doing business in Inglewood - and California generally," the organization said in a statement.

A hollow warning

Fans aren't exactly keen on siding with a billionaire in most arguments, let alone one who infamously moved the Rams out of St. Louis a decade ago. Judging by the responses on line, the pity well is dry:

"Stan Kroenke building SoFi Stadium entirely without public money was the headline he used to justify moving the Rams and now turning around and asking Inglewood for $400 million is the kind of reversal that deserves every bit of scrutiny it is going to receive. The independence from public funding was the entire moral foundation of that move and this request undermines that narrative completely," one user remarked.

"Billionaires privatize profits and socialize costs. Same playbook every time," another declared.

"He's beginning to figure out that the Rams will never be as popular as the Raiders in L.A. even with the Rams there. The Chargers aren't helping the bottom line either. Should have kept the Rams in St. Louis," wrote a third.

Kroenke already paid out nearly $800 million in litigation to settle the dispute with St. Louis over moving the team out. It seems clear that he's not eager to keep sinking his own money into his project.

But if the courts have already ruled that the money Kroenke's team claims it's owned is void, then it's possible that this legal dispute is dead on arrival.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 1:46 PM.