Locals Sue Inglewood Over Possible New Arena

Mayor of Inglewood
Kelvin Kuo/AP – Mayor of Inglewood
James T. Butts Jr. talks during an NFL football news conference in Inglewood, Calif.
Residents filed suit against the City of Inglewood, Calif., June 19, trying to influence the use of land that is currently the subject of an exclusive negotiating agreement between the city and a company held by the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.
The land in question is being considered as the location for an arena for the Clippers. The property is near the under-construction stadium being built for the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. 
The Uplift Inglewood Coaltion, “a group of residents, businesses, faith groups and community organizations,” filed suit against the city for reportedly allegedly violating the California Surplus Land Act, which states that cities planning on selling or giving away public land need to consider affordable housing. 
“Today Uplift Inglewood filed a lawsuit against the City of Inglewood for violating a state law that mandates cities offer surplus public land to affordable housing developers before entering into agreements for other types of development,” Uplift wrote on its Facebook page. “The City did not comply with this state law when they entered into negotiations with the Clippers, so today we stood up for Inglewood residents who believe public land should be used for the public good.
“The City should prioritize building homes for Inglewood residents, not homes for billionaires’ sports teams.”
The company that owns the Forum in Inglewood also sued the city, Inglewood Mayor James Butts, various city agencies and Murphy’s Bowl LLC, in March for the establishment of an exclusive negotiating agreement between Murphy’s Bowl and the city. MSG Forum LLC (which is affiliated with Oak View Group, Pollstar’s parent company), claimed the Forum was tricked by Butts into giving up its lease and purchase options on the land, and was unaware that Butts would enter a negotiating agreement for a possible competing arena.
The Uplift Inglewood Inglewood Coalition, founded in 2015 to “give a voice to all Inglewood residents,” campaigned to defeat proposed California Senate Bill 789, which would have changed the requirements for potential developers in Inglewood to prepare Environmental Impact Reports. 
The forthcoming Inglewood stadium was the subject of a panel discussion at the VenuesNow Conference, with the $5 billion venue described as the “new front door” to Los Angeles.
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