The Chargers have agreed to lease a portion of an Orange County office facility and are working to secure nearby land for practice fields as part of their preparations for a potential Los Angeles move, the team confirmed to NFL.com on Friday.
The agreement, which was first reported by the Orange County Register, would give the Chargers a front-office location to operate from at The Hive -- an office campus located in Costa Mesa, California. However, if the Chargers decided to stay in San Diego, their lease agreement with The Hive would be terminated.
Chargers owner Dean Spanos met with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and other city and county officials Thursday as part of the their ongoing discussions with the city regarding a possible stadium plan, the team said.
The office lease is further evidence that Spanos is seriously considering a franchise relocation. He has until an NFL-mandated deadline of Jan. 15 to decide whether he wants to move the team to L.A. At the Winter League Meeting earlier this month, Spanos said he would not make a decision until after Jan. 1.
If the franchise did move, the Costa Mesa location would be considered the Chargers' permanent home, the team confirmed. The Chargers would eventually play their home games roughly 40 miles north in Inglewood at a stadium facility they would share with the Rams. They would also have offices at the Inglewood stadium, which is under construction and slated to open in 2019.
In November, San Diego voters rejected a ballot measure that would have raised hotel occupancy taxes to help pay for a proposed $1.8 billion downtown stadium project.
Earlier this month, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell underlined the challenges of trying to find financing for new stadiums in the San Diego and Oakland markets.
"We have not made great progress in Oakland or San Diego," Goodell said at the Winter League Meeting. "There is not a stadium proposal on the table that we think addresses the long term issues of the clubs and the communities, so we need to continue to work at it."
