Inglewood council orders $325,000 audit of its SoFi Stadium deal, citing ticket taxes

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SoFi Stadium in Inglewood at sunset with its reflection in water

Inglewood council orders $325,000 audit of its SoFi Stadium deal, citing ticket taxes

City staff say a court ruling lifted the cap on ticket-tax revenue. A Hollywood Park spokesperson called the audit a "thinly veiled attempt to distract" from the city's own finances.

By Alberto Zamudio | The Southbound 105 | Oct. 16, 2026

Inglewood's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, Oct. 13, to commission an audit of the city's financial relationship with SoFi Stadium, setting aside $325,000 from the General Fund, according to LAist and The LA Local. The vote came about a month after a judge voided the 2015 contract that brought the stadium to the city.

What the council approved

The motion, put forward by Mayor James Butts and co-sponsored by Councilmember Dionne Faulk, directs the city attorney to hire an accounting firm to conduct the audit and report back to the public within 30 days, LAist reported. The review is to cover the stadium-city financial relationship since 2015, including what the city is owed and what it has received in taxes on items ranging from tickets to parking. City officials plan to keep auditing the taxes quarterly after that.

Butts said the court ruling made the audit a necessary next step, and cited the 2027 Super Bowl and 2028 Olympics coming to Inglewood, according to LAist.

The ticket-tax cap

At the center of the dispute is the city's admissions tax. Inglewood collects a 10% tax on tickets sold at SoFi Stadium, but the 2015 initiative that brought the stadium to the city capped that revenue at $15 million a year, rising with inflation, LAist reported.

City staff say that with the development agreement voided, the cap no longer applies. That is the city's position; LAist reported that staff highlighted it in the motion as one major change they say they have found. The tax has brought in an average of about $20 million a year since the stadium opened, LAist reported. A city analysis of a related ballot measure estimated that removing the cap could bring in as much as an extra $50 million in future years. The city did not estimate how much admissions tax revenue it may have missed while the agreement was in effect.

The audit will also look into the authenticity of about $376 million in infrastructure bills that Hollywood Park says the city owes. The findings could factor into how the city handles its current $30.8 million deficit, according to LAist.

The developer's response

A Hollywood Park spokesperson said the stadium development has met its financial obligations, including paying all of its taxes. In a statement quoted by LAist, the spokesperson called the audit "yet another thinly veiled attempt to distract from scrutiny surrounding the City's own fiscal mismanagement and the questionable actions of its Mayor."

It is not guaranteed that the city could force the developer to pay anything the audit identifies. Hollywood Park could still appeal the ruling that voided the contract, while Butts said the city wants to negotiate a new agreement, LAist reported.

Billboards and the ballot

Councilmember Gloria Gray, who is running for mayor against Butts, tried to add billboard revenue to the audit, but her amendment did not get a second, LAist reported.

The fight has also reached the Nov. 3 ballot. According to the Los Angeles County registrar's list of measures, Inglewood's Measure AT would set tiered admissions-tax rates of 10% and 2.5% based on venue seating capacity and remove the annual cap on revenue. Measure BB would eliminate the city's authority to allow advertising on the public right-of-way, a change the ballot label says would reduce general fund revenue.

What's next

  • Within 30 days: the audit findings are due to be reported publicly, per the motion.
  • Possible appeal: Hollywood Park could appeal the ruling that voided the 2015 agreement.
  • Nov. 3: Inglewood voters decide Measures AT and BB.

Want more local news? Read more at The Southbound 105.

Cover photo: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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