San Diego Chargers not moving to Los Angeles in 2015
The San Diego Chargers won't be moving to Los Angeles in 2015, as the team announced Tuesday that it has elected not to exercise the termination clause in its Qualcomm Stadium lease.
The statement from Mark Fabiani, special counsel to Chargers president Dean Spanos, said the team will instead "continue to work toward a permanent stadium solution in San Diego." The Chargers have declined to exercise the termination clause in every year since 2007.
Fabiani's full statement:
"On February 1st of every year since 2007, the Chargers have been eligible to terminate the team’s lease for Qualcomm Stadium. And each year since 2007, the Chargers have announced that the team will not exercise the termination clause and instead continue to work toward a permanent stadium solution in San Diego.
"Today, the Chargers are making the same announcement that the team has made each year since 2007: The team will not be exercising the lease termination clause and will keep working to find a publicly acceptable way to build a Super Bowl-quality stadium in San Diego. Calendar year 2015 will constitute the team’s fourteenth year of work on a San Diego stadium solution."
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Relocating a NFL team to Los Angeles has been a major topic in the league for several years. The city has not had a team since the Rams moved to St. Louis and the Raiders to Oakland following the 1994 season. The Raiders, Rams and previously the Chargers have been widely considered the most likely teams to relocate to Los Angeles, as all three are on year-to-year stadium leases.
The Chargers have been eyeing the Los Angeles market "for years," according to the Los Angeles Times, as the team estimates 25 percent of its season-ticket holders reside in Los Angeles or Orange counties. The team would also lose leverage on any stadium deal negotiations in San Diego should another team move to LA.
A report from ProFootballTalk.com in October indicated that concerns of the Chargers about other teams relocating to Los Angeles could possibly be resolved by the team receiving a larger percentage of the relocation fee than other teams.
- Mike Fiammetta
