SAN DIEGO _ The Chargers announced Thursday morning that they are moving to Los Angeles after 56 years in San Diego.
Team owner Dean Spanos made the move official with a post on Chargers.com. He told employees of the move at an 8 a.m. staff meeting.
"After much deliberation, I have made the decision to relocate the Chargers to Los Angeles, beginning with the 2017 NFL season," Spanos wrote. "San Diego has been our home for 56 years. It will always be part of our identity, and my family and I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the support and passion our fans have shared with us over the years."
Spanos then touted the move to Los Angeles as the beginning of an "exciting era" for the team.
"LA is a remarkable place, and while we played our first season there in 1960 and have had fans there ever since, our entire organization knows that we have a tremendous amount of work to do," he said. "We must earn the respect and support of LA football fans. We must get back to winning. And, we must make a meaningful contribution, not just on the field, but off the field as a leader and champion for the community."
The team will change its logo to feature the letters L and A, arranged similarly to the logo of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It will also have a lightning bolt.
The team's Twitter handle was changed to Los Angeles Chargers at 8 a.m.
Charger fans were disheartened Wednesday night when websites broke early news of the decision, especially with recent talk suggesting the team might stay in San Diego and try to work out a stadium deal.
The lack of a modern football stadium in San Diego _ and the additional revenues generated by such elaborate facilities _ prompted the departure of the team, which has been one of the region's most popular and recognizable civic institutions.
The Chargers have agreed to become tenants in a $2.66 billion stadium that Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke is building in Inglewood.
The decision to move comes two months after San Diego voters rejected a tax increase for a combined stadium and convention center annex the Chargers proposed for downtown. Measure C was supported by 43.6 percent of voters, far less than the two-thirds required for approval.
That proposal came after the team pursued at least nine different stadium solutions beginning in 2004, though some say many of those proposals lacked financial details.
The Chargers recently leased a new headquarters and training facility in Costa Mesa in Orange County, roughly 40 miles from Inglewood.
The Costa Mesa lease covers 101,000 square feet of office space next to Interstate 405 in The Hive complex and an adjacent 3.2-acre parcel for training and practices.
