Monday, a report from The Athletic’s Vincent Bonsignore provided the possibility that the Los Angeles Chargers and the NFL are considering sending the AFC West team overseas to become a permanent fixture in London. However, the owner of the Chargers, Dean Spanos, has since shut these rumors down. He left little doubt about his intentions with a profanity-laden quote about remaining in Los Angeles.
“It’s total f—ing bulls—, ok? We’re not going to London,” Spanos said, per Jason B. Hirschhorn of Sports Illustrated. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re playing in Los Angeles. This is our home. This is where I’m planning to be for a long f—ing time. Period.”
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According to the report in The Athletic, the possibility of a move was being discussed as the Chargers prepare to move into a $4.5 billion stadium that they will be sharing with the Los Angeles Rams. The 27,000-seat stadium that is the temporary home of the team is consistently filled by opposing fanbases. There were reportedly concerns about the team being the “second fiddle” in a city that hasn’t truly embraced the Chargers since they departed San Diego.
The Athletic has learned through NFL sources that the possibility of the Chargers moving to London has been broached among league personnel. The Athletic also has learned that, while the team is fully committed to Los Angeles where it will move into the new $4.5 billion stadium with the Rams next year, the Chargers would at least listen if the NFL approached them about about London as a possible option.
Moving to London would give the Chargers sole possession of the United Kingdom market. They would also be able to play their home games at the 62,000-seat Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that was built to accommodate the NFL’s International Series games.
Of course, heading to London would bring about more concerns about the eight home games and the eight games played in the United States. How would the Chargers and their opponents handle the travel time, the jet lag, and finding somewhere to practice?
Moving an NFL team to London full time has been a topic of discussion for years, especially with the constantly-changing markets in America. This report by The Athletic made it appear to be more than a pipe dream despite the Chargers being focused on remaining in Los Angeles.
That being said, Spanos made it very clear that he has no intention of taking his team overseas, and he did so with gusto.
(Photo Credit: Tom Walko/Icon Sportswire/Getty)
