The San Diego Chargers shockingly announced their plans to move to Los Angeles for the 2017 season on Wednesday night, ending a 56-year stint in San Diego. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released the following statement about the move.
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.
The Chargers' franchise was founding in Los Angeles in 1960, and played one year there before moving to San Diego. The Chargers had until Jan. 17 to exercise the option to move.
"I'm looking forward, not backward," Chargers chairman Dean Spanos said. "I spent half my life here. I leave behind a lot of friends and lot of great memories, but life goes on. There are always a lot of changes in life, and we know this is not going to be easy. But we made a decision, we're committed to it, and our family is 100 percent behind it. What's happened has happened."
The Chargers have already unveiled a new LA logo, and they are considering adopting a new name. They will still be the Los Angeles Chargers for the 2017 season.
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