SAN DIEGO — The Chargers announced Thursday morning that they are moving to Los Angeles after 56 years in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO — The Chargers announced Thursday morning that they are moving to Los Angeles after 56 years in San Diego.
Team owner Dean Spanos made the move official with a post on Chargers.com at 8 a.m. The team will join the Los Angeles Rams in a $2.66 billion stadium that Rams owner Stan Kroenke is building in Inglewood.
“After much deliberation, I have made the decision to relocate the Chargers to Los Angeles, beginning with the 2017 NFL season,” Spanos wrote. “San Diego has been our home for 56 years. It will always be part of our identity, and my family and I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the support and passion our fans have shared with us over the years.”
Spanos then touted the move to Los Angeles as the beginning of an “exciting era” for the team.
“LA is a remarkable place, and while we played our first season there in 1960 and have had fans there ever since, our entire organization knows that we have a tremendous amount of work to do,” he wrote. “We must earn the respect and support of LA football fans. We must get back to winning. And, we must make a meaningful contribution, not just on the field, but off the field as a leader and champion for the community.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement that he empathizes with Chargers fans but that the team did everything it could to find a stadium solution in San Diego.
“For more than a decade, the San Diego Chargers have worked diligently toward finding a local stadium solution, which all sides agreed was required,” Goodell said. “Relocation is painful for teams and communities. It is especially painful for fans, and the fans in San Diego have given the Chargers strong and loyal support for more than 50 years, which makes it even more disappointing that we could not solve the stadium issue.”
County Supervisor Ron Roberts, who worked aggressively with Mayor Kevin Faulconer to keep the Chargers in San Diego the last two years, criticized the team and predicted San Diego would still prosper without them.
“The Chargers will stand next to Donald Sterling in the Hall of Shame,” said Roberts, comparing the team to the infamous former owner of the Clippers who moved the NBA team from San Diego to Los Angeles. He later was banned from the NBA for making racist comments.
“It hurts, but we will move on without them. San Diego is a great community and we are not dependent on the Chargers,” added Roberts, who teared up as he spoke at a City Hall news conference.
The Chargers must pay the league a $550 million relocation fee, which would rise to $650 million if the team chooses to cover the payment with installments over 10 years.