On the one-year anniversary of the ground-breaking ceremony, the Chargers hosted a media tour Thursday of their new headquarters and practice facility being built in El Segundo.
The team hopes to host an event here during the 2024 draft and have all operations relocated in time for training camp three months later.
“I’ve been in the development business most of my adult life — over 30 years,” said Fred Maas, the Chargers’ chief of staff, “and it never ceases to amaze me how much can be done in a year.”
Since moving from San Diego before the 2017 season, the Chargers have been operating out of a temporary facility in Costa Mesa. Their new place sits about seven miles from SoFi Stadium.
Designed by Gensler Sports, the project includes a 145,000-square-foot main building that will house everything from the players’ locker room to the team’s business offices.
There will be three natural-grass fields on which the Chargers will conduct all practices, starting with training camp. Their final camp in Costa Mesa is set to begin in late July.
The exterior of the building, Maas noted, was founded on the team’s logo.
“The [lightning] bolt really was the inspiration for what we could do,” he said. “How do we take some of the exciting things around that imagery and integrate it into the building in a way that fit and didn’t look hokey but looked genuine to our brand?”
The Chargers’ neighbors in El Segundo will include the Lakers and Kings, both of whom have been based there for years.
“We had our hearts set on the South Bay when we started this process five years ago,” Maas said. “We always thought this was an important focal point.
“We saw a burgeoning fan base here. It had so many positive elements — from the proximity to SoFi, the proximity to LAX, all the teams that were here. … It was just an exciting opportunity that blossomed and came to life.”
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