Chargers Officially Announce Move To Los Angeles, Unveil New Logos

Update:

On Friday, the Chargers posted two new versions of their new logo to their Twitter account.

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement as well Thursday regarding the Chargers’ decision to move to L.A.

For more than a decade, the San Diego Chargers have worked diligently toward finding a local stadium solution, which all sides agreed was required.  These efforts took on added intensity in the last two years. A year ago, NFL owners granted the Chargers an option to move to Los Angeles.  Rather than immediately exercising that option, the team spent the past year continuing to work on finding a stadium solution in San Diego. 

The Chargers worked tirelessly this past year with local officials and community leaders on a ballot initiative that fell short on election day.  That work – and the years of effort that preceded it – reflects our strongly held belief we always should do everything we can to keep a franchise in its community. That’s why we have a deliberate and thoughtful process for making these decisions. 

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.  As difficult as the news is for Charger fans, I know Dean Spanos and his family did everything they could to try to find a viable solution in San Diego.  

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The Chargers made it official Thursday by announcing their plans to relocate to Los Angeles in a statement from team owner Dean Spanos.

A letter from Dean Spanos pic.twitter.com/rTNIvrsN1A

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) January 12, 2017

Here’s the Chargers’ new logo:

The new logo from the now-Los Angeles @Chargers pic.twitter.com/rm4NorXtOA

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2017

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Ian Rapoport reports that Chargers owner Dean Spanos will tell his staff that the team is moving to Los Angeles today and it will officially be announced shortly after.

• Rapoport adds that the Chargers will also debut a new logo today. After that, Spanos plans to go to L.A. and with the mayors of Los Angeles and Inglewood.
• Rapoport also confirms that the Chargers will play two years at the StubHub Center before joining the Rams.
• According to Rapoport, there won’t be a last-ditch effort from San Diego to keep the team.
• In regards to the logo, Michael Gehlken says that it will feature the letters L.A. and will be arranged similarly to Dodgers logo. There will be a lightning bolt included in the logo.

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Michael Gehlken reports that the “wheels are in motion” for the Chargers moving to Los Angeles and owner Dean Spanos will address the staff Thursday morning before being in L.A. later on in the day.

• Mike Florio of PFT reports that the Chargers will, in fact, play at the StubHub Center for two seasons before the new Inglewood stadium is built in time for the 2019 season.
• The StubHub Center has just 30,000 seats, so Florio expects to market their games as a “very unique experience” with an “intimate environment” for a football game.

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Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Chargers plan to announce as early as Thursday that they will be relocating the franchise to Los Angeles and joining the Rams.

Schefter adds that the Chargers have notified NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and other league owners of their intent to move to Los Angeles for the 2017 season.

However, Chargers owner Dean Spanos has yet to send a formal relocation letter to the NFL, notify public officials in Los Angeles or San Diego, or even tell the members of the organization about his plans to relocate the franchise.

Schefter’s source insisted that nothing is final right now. Although, unless Spanos somehow changes his mind about moving the Chargers, the expectation is that they’ll be playing in L.A.

Spanos reportedly believes they need to begin fighting with the Rams for their portion of the Los Angeles as soon as possible.

The Chargers received a two-day extension regarding the option to decide whether to move the team to Los Angeles, but reports said that this was so that a decision didn’t need to be made during Divisional Round of the playoffs.

This is disappointing news, as the Chargers had spent the past 55 years in San Diego.

Unfortunately, the team wasn’t able to gain much traction towards a new stadium in downtown San Diego last year after their ballot measure failed to come close to required percentage. It will cost the Chargers $550 million to relocate the franchise but they can pay this instalments of $65 million per year over 10 years if they’re willing to pay the additional $100 million, according to Andrew Brandt.

We’ll have more news regarding the Chargers’ move as the news is available.