Chargers Bolting For Los Angeles

After spending the last 56 years in San Diego, the Chargers will be returning to the city they called home during their inaugural season.  The announcement of the move was made official this morning when the Chargers organization tweeted out a letter from team owner Dean Spanos, in which he thanks the fans for their years of support while confirming that the team will be playing in Los Angeles come next season.

The Chargers are the second NFL team in the last two years to move to Los Angeles.  Shortly after the end of the 2015-16 season, the St. Louis Rams announced that they were moving back to Los Angeles, where they had previously played from 1946 to 1994.  Supposedly, there was a lot of concern among NFL team owners and the league office about whether or not the Chargers should move to Los Angeles.  This is mostly due to the fact that the city will now be home to two NFL teams.  The common belief is that the move is a result of the NFL refusing to fund the Chargers in helping to build a new stadium in San Diego.  Additionally, Spanos feels that the team has a good chance of winning over fans in Los Angeles since the Rams have only played there for one season.

The Chargers will still face an issue in finding a stadium to play in.  According to Pro Football Talk, the team intends to play in the StubHub Center, the home of the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS, for at least the next two years.  The soccer stadium consists of 30,000 seats.  No plans for a new stadium after those two years have been announced as of yet, though it would be safe to expect an announcement in the coming weeks.

During their 56 years in San Diego, the Chargers were AFL champions in 1963 and Conference champions in 1994.  They were division champions between the AFL West and AFC West a total of 14 times, with a total of 17 playoff appearances during their time in San Diego.  They reached Super Bowl XXIX in the 1994-95 season, but lost 49-26 to the San Francisco 49ers.

Author: sufferingnysportsfans

I just graduated Cum Laude with an Honor's degree in journalism at Hofstra University. Interned for the Long Island desk at Newsday during the Spring 2018 semester. My goal is to one day become a sports journalist, covering the New York Mets.

One thought on “Chargers Bolting For Los Angeles”

  1. Being that Obama is from Chicago, a fan, and POTUS, I don’t think that it is unusual that the Cubs plan to visit him before he leaves office. That being said, I agree that it should be interesting to see if the next president breaks with tradition, and bases his invitations on comments made by team members during his run for the office.

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