Chargers Confirm Move to Los Angeles

SAN DIEGO, CA – Chargers chairman Dean Spanos announced Thursday that the team will move to the Los Angeles area for the 2017 season.

Spanos announced the move in a letter posted on the team's website. The Chargers will become the second team in the Los Angeles region along with the Rams, and will share a stadium being built for the Rams in Inglewood, a city abutting Los Angeles.

"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 said. "But today, we turn the page and begin an exciting new era as the Los Angeles Chargers."

While the Inglewood stadium is under construction, the Chargers will play their home games at StubHub Center in Carson in Los Angeles County, according to ESPN.

Spanos noted the Chargers' inaugural season in 1960 was played in Los Angeles and while the team had fans there since, the Chargers have "a tremendous amount of work to do" to earn the respect and support of Los Angeles football fans.

"We must get back to winning," Spanos said. "And, we must make a meaningful contribution, not just on the field, but off the field as a leader and champion for the community. The Chargers are determined to fight for LA and we are excited to get started."

The announcement comes one day after Spanos was given until Tuesday to decide whether to remain in San Diego or move the team to Los Angeles by team owners on the stadium and finance committees who met in New York to discuss stadium situations in San Diego and Oakland, home of the Raiders.

The decision climaxing the Chargers' long-running search for a new playing facility comes two months after the defeat of Measure C, which would have raised hotel room taxes to provide the public portion of the cost of building a downtown stadium. Because of the tax increase, the ballot measure required two-thirds approval to pass, but it failed to even get a simple majority.

Even though the team will play in a neighboring city, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti seemed ecstatic at the news.

"Los Angeles is one of the world's great sports towns. Championship teams and iconic athletes aren't just memories here -- they are legends woven into the fabric of our history. Today, we welcome an important part of that history back with the Chargers returning to Los Angeles," the mayor said in a statement.

"L.A. already has more visitors than ever before. The Chargers will make our NFL tradition even richer, and give sports fans everywhere one more reason to be in Los Angeles. I congratulate Dean Spanos and the entire Chargers organization, and look forward to the extraordinary contributions they will make to our entire region."

Added Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts in an interview with KNX 1070: "We're ecstatic."

-- Photo courtesy of the Chargers.