Report: Federal judge bars UCLA from baseball facilities amid U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs land use dispute

By order of a California federal judge, the UCLA baseball program is being barred from Jackie Robinson Stadium and other facilities for the foreseeable future, a lease with the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs was deemed illegal, according to The Los Angeles Times. And the ordeal stems from a land-use dispute and providing services to veterans.

The Bruins will regain access to their stadium and an adjacent practice field after delivering a plan to judge David O. Carter that satisfies his requirements for the land to be used adequately to provide services to veterans as a predominant use.

Carter issued his ruling late on Wednesday to conclude the nearly 11-hour hearing, which featured the presence of UCLA’s Chancellor, Darnell Hunt, according The Times. Hunt appeared in court after Carter warned he would cordon off the stadium if the chancellor did not show up. And as Hunt watched, UCLA attorney Ray Cardozo unsuccessfully argued with Carter that a plan UCLA had submitted should be adequate for providing services to veterans on the 10-acre lease.

But Carter was unswayed, and ruled that the stadium and practice field were to be closed by noon on Thursday — a move that has subsequently occurred — as the lease UCLA had was illegal.

Carter also ruled against a number of other entities leasing land from the VA in the direct vicinity, as they also did not primarily provide services to veterans or their families, according to The Times.

At the center of this class-action case was an 1888 deed of the land in question, which was given to the U.S. government for “establishment, construction and permanent maintenance” of a home for disable veterans, according to The Times. The claim alleged the VA had wrongly leased out portions of the 388-acre campus as those various plots were not being used to serve veterans as outlined in the deed.

Carter, according to The Times, ordered the VA to construct or acquire a number of units of temporary (750) and eventually permanent (1,800) housing on the campus. That’s along with previous orders that combined require 2,800 units of housing.

The hearing on Wednesday was, in part, to determine how the various leaseholders could accommodate the construction of housing on the plots they’d been using. Some groups, like attorneys representing the Brentwood School, finished the day close to an agreement and were allowed more time to finalize details, according to The Times, while others like an oil drilling operation managed to settle their issues definitely.

UCLA, though, is still searching for a plan to put Carter at ease that its 10-acre plot will primarily serve veterans. And until then, Jackie Robinson Stadium will be off limits.