UCLA allowed to use baseball field after striking deal in VA land use dispute
A federal judge allowed UCLA to reenter Jackie Robinson Stadium on Tuesday after it agreed to pay the Department of Veterans Affairs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In September, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ordered the university to close and padlock the stadium until the administration devised a plan for how the field could benefit military veterans.
After a month, Carter allowed UCLA to use the field through the end of the 2025 College Baseball season if the administration paid $600,000 within the next two weeks. The temporary lease, which includes the practice field, concessions and training facilities, will end on July 4, 2025, at the latest.
"The stadium and practice field land may be needed in the future if VA continues to argue, contrary to the court's findings, that there is insufficient space available for veteran housing on the campus," according to the order. "After July 4, 2025, the land on which the baseball facilities sits may be used for housing. If UCLA is unable to reach a new agreement with VA by that date, UCLA will lose access."
In the August hearings, in which the judge resolved a class action lawsuit on behalf of disabled homeless veterans in the Los Angeles area. Carter blasted the VA for "turning its back" on the veterans it was designed to help by leasing portions of the campus to UCLA's baseball team, a private Brentwood School, an oil company, and a parking facility on the agency's West Los Angeles campus.
During the trial, the VA argued that it is out of space on its 388-acre campus and that the lack of available acreage precludes any increase to the 1,200 housing units the agency promised to open by 2030. VA attorneys alleged that any relief ordered by the court would burden the department financially and deprive it of the flexibility needed to solve veteran homelessness.
Ultimately, the court found that veterans are entitled to more than 2,500 units of housing at the campus and voided the land-use agreements. The judge also mandated the construction of 1,800 additional units of permanent housing for disabled veterans on or near the VA's campus -- in addition to the 1,200 units already promised by the VA.
In early October, Carter ordered that the two sides must provide "immediate shelter on the grounds of the campus" because of the possibility of rainy weather during the upcoming winter.
"With fall and winter, approaching and with thousands of homeless veterans still living on the streets, an emergency exists," Carter wrote in the order.
The two sides decided to construct modular housing on two parking lots near the stadium. They expect the the electrical and sewage line work within the next three weeks.
