E. Stanley Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, and the City of Inglewood are locked in a roughly $400 million dispute over Hollywood Park and SoFi Stadium, just as the venue prepares to host World Cup matches. Inglewood argues its 2015 development agreement with Hollywood Park is void because of a subsequent state court decision invalidating agreements adopted by voter initiative.

The $5 billion SoFi Stadium opened in 2020 without government funding, and Kroenke's development transformed Inglewood from near-bankruptcy in 2011 with 17% unemployment to today's 4.7% rate, with real estate values doubling. Hollywood Park says it should be reimbursed for public infrastructure improvements including roads, sewer lines, and streetlights. Otto Maly, managing director of Hollywood Park, warned that if the city's agreements can be undone after years of growth, it raises "fundamental questions about the reliability of doing business in Inglewood."

The dispute also involves digital signage that Inglewood installed near Hollywood Park, with a hearing scheduled for Friday. Inglewood's mayor, James T. Butts Jr., has emphasized that "billionaires are not above the law." The legal battle underscores that no stadium deal is truly free, even when built without public money.