Judge orders immediate closure of UCLA’s baseball stadium
An order from a federal judge to lockdown UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium is set to go into effect at noon Thursday.
The stadium and other plots of land located on V.A. property in West Los Angeles have been ordered to close until a deal is reached to use them in a way that benefits military veterans, for which they were originally intended.
An ongoing court case about what will happen to the land and the school’s leases will also take place on Thursday.
The court ruled on Friday that several interest leases on the V.A.’s property, including where the baseball stadium stands, are illegal.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, right, tours Jackie Robinson Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 in West Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, second from left, confers with his law clerks while touring Jackie Robinson Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 in West Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)More
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, a Vietnam Veteran, expressed frustration over UCLA and other past leaseholders for failing to provide an acceptable use for the land.
Judge Carter has also hinted that he may order the demolition of the nearby private Brentwood School’s athletic center on the V.A.’s grounds and threatened to fill its swimming pool with sand unless the school finds a way to allow veterans access.
In Carter’s initial ruling earlier this month, he accused the V.A. of turning its back on veterans by illegally leasing parts of the campus to private interests, including UCLA’s baseball team and an oil company, and terminated the leases.
The V.A. has been ordered to construct 750 units of temporary housing within 18 months and develop a plan for an additional 1,800 permanent units within six months.
