The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 70, No. 44 - November 4, 2021
We Honor Our Heroes on
National First Responders Day
Chargers from front page
Inc., and the Los Angeles Chargers to prepare
this development application. City staff will
submit recommendations to (the) Planning
Commission and City Council for their review.”
The project is scheduled to be considered by
the Planning Commission via a public hearing
CLASSIFIED ADS – ONLY $40
for twenty words or less.
Email class@heraldpublications.com or call 310-322-1831 for more information.
on Nov.18. The City Council will review
the Planning Commission’s recommendations
through a separate public hearing on Dec. 7,
with another “reading” anticipated to take place
two weeks later.
The Charger management team was pleased
with the decision to make El Segundo their
permanent home. “When searching for a
location to establish our hub of football and
business operations, we didn’t leave a single
stone unturned,” said owner and chairperson
of the board Dean Spanos. “This process
played out for more than four years because
we weren’t willing to settle. Good enough was
not going to cut it. We wanted great, and we
finally found it,” Spanos said.
Continued Spanos: “To be able to develop 14
acres of prime real estate – with the proximity
to LAX, SoFi Stadium, more Fortune 500
companies in the state than anywhere except
San Francisco and, of course, neighbors like
the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles
Kings – it’s another major step toward building
a perennial contender and further rooting
ourselves in the community we serve.”
Los Angeles Lakers CEO and co-owner Jeanie
Buss and LA Kings President and Hockey
Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille were among local
sporting bigwigs to welcome the Chargers to
town, issuing statements touting their satisfaction
in moving their organizations to El Segundo.
“The Lakers welcome the Los Angeles
Chargers, and Dean Spanos and his family,
to El Segundo,” said Jeanie Buss, Governor,
and Co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. “El
Segundo is a great place to be, and it’s exciting
that our city will now host the headquarters
and training facilities of the Lakers, Kings
and Chargers.”
“El Segundo has been a tremendous home
for the LA Kings for more than 20 years, and
throughout this time, the City and the community
overall have been outstanding partners,” said
Robitaille. “Our hockey club is now thrilled to
help welcome the Chargers to the South Bay,
joining us and our life-long friends, the Lakers,
in this affable community we call home.
The Chargers – their players, their staff – are
perfectly suited to add so much to El Segundo,
and we look forward to partnering with them
as we continue to seek opportunities to make
positive contributions to the local community.”
“El Segundo is quickly becoming America’s
#1 small town for professional sports,” CDC
president and CEO Richard Lundquist said.
“The Chargers, Lakers, and Kings form the ‘Big
Three.’ These sports powerhouses contribute
to our El Segundo schools and our recreation
programs and energize the local economy.
The Chargers are eager to become active
participants of the El Segundo community. I
want to welcome the Chargers to El Segundo
and applaud their decision to bring their new
headquarters to this great community. They are
joining a growing number of companies and
national organizations,” said Lundquist, “who
are recognizing the advantage of relocating to
the South Bay, where professionals at the top
of their industries want to live and work. El
Segundo will soon have bragging rights that
rival any other city in America.”
The proposed project, designed by the Gensler
Sports architecture firm, includes a three-story
main building, three full-sized practice fields,
on-site parking, and other state-of-the-art facilities
that should allow the Chargers to compete
in the NFL for years to come.
The Chargers plan to begin construction
during 2022 and complete the project in time
to move into their new facility prior to the
start of the 2024 NFL season.
So, what will the Charger squad that will
assemble to hit the gridiron in the 2024 season
expect to see when they arrive at their new digs?
According to published reports, the facility
will emphasize “player efficiency and movement
between spaces that includes direct access to
the fields from all player and coaching spaces
as well as a direct connection between team
meeting rooms and exterior walk-through
space; specific locations within the new team
headquarters include a roof-top hospitality club,
full eSports gaming, and content studios and
a 3,100 square foot media center.”
First-year coach Brandon Staley sees the new
facility as an extension of a continuing effort by
the Chargers to become an elite NFL franchise.
“When our staff and I first started here, we
talked a lot about possibility,” Staley said. “You
could just see it coming. The possibility of this
team. The possibility of LA.
“The goal is for the Chargers to become
the standard of excellence in the NFL. This
new facility demonstrates our organization’s
commitment to that standard.”
More on the proposed structure(s). The
facility will span 145,000 square feet. There
will be three natural grass fields with an artificial
turf perimeter with 7,600 square feet of
elevated outdoor terrace space. An additional
3,400 square foot elevated outdoor turf area
and a two-lane lap pool for player rehabilitation
are among the various outdoor amenities
in the blueprint.
“The look, feel, and functionality of your
training facility means more today than it ever
has in professional sports,” said Charger General
Manager Tom Telesco. “Being able to create a
building that can grow with technological advances
– especially regarding nutritional needs,
strength and performance, injury prevention,
medical treatment, and game planning – is
crucial to sustained success. Everyone knows
the margin between wins and losses in the
NFL is razor-thin. Any advantage you can
create for your coaches and players, you will
take it. Having a world-class training facility
definitely falls into that category.”
With the field area designed to accommodate
bleacher seating for more than 5,000, 348
on-site parking spaces, and accommodations
available for offsite parking, the Chargers will
be able to host their public training camp at
the El Segundo complex.
“This is much more than a training facility,”
said Ron Turner, Principal of Gensler Sports.
“This is one of the very best buildings we’ve
ever designed.” •
Our first responders are truly heroes in our community and risk their lives each day to protect and serve others. Thank you for all that you do. Photo courtesy Centinela Hospital Medical Center.