Chargers To Announce They'll Make the Move to Los Angeles

By ESPN

Almost one year to the day that the Rams moved to Los Angeles, the Chargers now likely intend to do the same.

The Chargers plan to announce as early as Thursday that they are moving to Los Angeles, league sources said, ending a 55-year stint in San Diego and returning to their birthplace.

The franchise played its inaugural season in Los Angeles in 1960 before moving to San Diego in 1961.

The Chargers have notified NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and other league owners of their intent to move to Los Angeles for the 2017 season, sources said.

As one league source cautioned Wednesday night, Chargers chairman Dean Spanos had yet to send a formal relocation letter to the NFL or notify public officials in Los Angeles or San Diego of the team's move -- or even tell the members of the Chargers organization about his plans. The source insisted nothing is final.

But unless Spanos unexpectedly changes his mind at the last moment -- and there certainly have been enough plot twists in this San Diego stadium saga -- the Chargers will be moving to Los Angeles.

A team employee told The Associated Press that the Chargers have scheduled an 11 a.m. ET staff meeting for Thursday, the topic of which hadn't been divulged.

"At first, I hoped it was fake news. It's something that is unfathomable, but it is reality," Chargers great Dan Fouts said of the move.

This is said to have been an extremely difficult decision for Spanos to reach, sources said. While the economics of the decision have been clear, Spanos' loyalty and connection to San Diego have countered it. But in the end, Spanos' efforts to find a new stadium are now in their 16th year, with no resolution in sight. This stalemate is occurring at a time when the Rams are becoming more established in the Los Angeles market. Spanos is said to believe he needs to start fighting for the Los Angeles market as soon as possible, according to sources.

As of Wednesday night, the Chargers' intent was to become the second team in less than a year to move to Los Angeles, giving the city two NFL teams after it went more than two decades without having one.