The San Diego Chargers have agreed to lease office space and 3.2 nearby acres in Costa Mesa for a team headquarters and practice facility, team officials confirmed Friday.
The move, initially reported by the Orange County Register, ups the ante in the team's drive for a new stadium -- either in its home of 55 years or in the Los Angeles area.
Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos has been calling for a new facility for around 15 years to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium Mission Valley. He said he would wait until after the regular season, which ends Jan. 1, to make decisions on whether to remain in San Diego or become the second team in Los Angeles.
A Chargers spokesman confirmed that team officials agreed to lease 100,000 square feet of office space in a building near the 405 Freeway known as The Hive, and are seeking municipal permits to develop their headquarters and practice area.
The lease becomes void if Spanos decides not to move.
The move ratchets up the pressure on San Diego officials to entice Spanos to remain before Jan. 15, when an option for him to move his franchise to Los Angeles expires. The Chargers would join the Rams at a new stadium to open in 2019 in Inglewood, near Los Angeles International Airport.
On Sunday, Spanos told a reporter that he was leaning toward moving. A few days earlier, his National Football League owner colleagues approved a plan that would help him pay a stiff relocation fee.
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The actions follow the defeat last month of Measure C, which would have increased San Diego's hotel room tax to help finance construction of a downtown stadium and meeting facility. The measure required two-thirds to pass, but didn't even receive a simple majority.
Chargers fans have also become increasingly outnumbered at Qualcomm Stadium. By some estimates, three-quarters or more of the fan's at Sunday's game were cheering for the Oakland Raiders, the opponent that day.
Four City Council members who opposed Measure C recently sent a letter to Spanos offering him a lease of the 166-acre Qualcomm site in Mission Valley for $1 per year, which would grant him rights to stadium and ancillary development. Spanos was incensed, however, that the letter was leaked to the media before it was delivered, according to multiple reports.
Since Measure C was defeated, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has met or spoken with Spanos, team stadium adviser Fred Maas and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
In January, it was revealed that the Chargers submitted plans for grading and landscaping for a similar facility in Santa Ana.
