By John Gittelsohn and Maxwell Adler | Bloomberg

Stan Kroenke, the billionaire owner of the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams, first targeted billboards that his lawyers said threaten the prosperity of his $5.5 billion sports and entertainment complex in the nation’s second-largest metropolis.

When that didn’t go his way in court, his companies found another reason to sue the city of Inglewood, where his SoFi Stadium is home to the Rams and host to this year’s World Cup games, the 2027 Super Bowl and 2028 Olympic events. Kroenke’s companies now claim the city stiffed them on almost $400 million they spent on public roads, sewers and other infrastructure, as well as police and fire protection.

As the dispute escalates in Los Angeles Superior Court, Kroenke’s companies say their project “literally saved the city from bankruptcy,” while Inglewood’s attorneys contend that “billionaires are not above the law.”

Kroenke, whose net worth is almost $27 billion, developed the 300-acre site known as Hollywood Park without public financing, rare for such a massive sports facility. But his lawyers argue the city has undercut his investment in the complex that opened in 2021 and features, in addition to the stadium, the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater, as well as office, retail and residential buildings about four miles east of Los Angeles International Airport.

The fight started after Inglewood approved a contract in April with WOW Media to install as many as 60 digital billboards around Hollywood Park that would share ad revenue with the city.

Kroenke’s companies complained that the deal violates terms of their 2015 development agreement that prohibits billboards near the SoFi complex and that it diverts money away from the billionaire’s investment while taking advantage of traffic to his venues. They asserted the signage would undercut exclusive sponsorships and enable “ambush marketing” around some of the world’s biggest sporting events.

Ultimately, a judge rejected the arguments for blocking the WOW media deal and said the development agreement with the city is invalid because it was improperly enacted.

“We have every right to use public land for what we want to do,” Inglewood Mayor James Butts said in an interview. “I don’t see any legal arguments that would give them control over what we do on city land.”

In the more recent complaint, Kroenke’s companies argue the city must still reimburse them for $376 million in public improvements — payments the city counters it can’t make because there’s no valid development agreement.

“This isn’t about SoFi and what’s already been built,” said Louis “Skip” Miller, the city’s attorney. “It’s about public funds being paid to a private party going forward — for which the law requires a valid agreement.”

A spokesperson for Kroenke’s Hollywood Park said the city’s decision to unilaterally void the development agreement after a decade is unlawful.

“For more than a decade, Hollywood Park has been committed to the City of Inglewood, successfully developing a global destination that delivers significant economic benefits, including jobs, housing, infrastructure, and world-class events to the community,” according to the spokesperson’s statement. “Because the city has refused to honor its agreement, Hollywood Park was forced to take legal action.”

Hollywood Park neighbors the Intuit Dome, a $2 billion arena developed by the emeritus Microsoft chief, Steve Ballmer, that has been the home of his Los Angeles Clippers basketball team since 2024. The opulent venues, along with the Kia Forum that formerly hosted the Los Angeles Lakers, have earned Inglewood the nickname “City of Champions.” Ballmer’s companies also sued over the billboards.

Kroenke has a history of playing hardball with his teams’ cities. He moved the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016, prompting years of litigation that ended with a $790 million settlement. The Rams face the Carolina Panthers in a wild card playoff game Saturday.

The case is Pincay Re LLC v. City of Inglewood, 25TRCV04256, Los Angeles County Superior Court.