The San Diego Charges choosing a plot of land in Costa Mesa for offices and possibly practice and training facilities before a move to Los Angeles makes perfect sense, as you'll read in a moment.
But first, the back story: Last month San Diego voters rejected a proposal to finance a new stadium and convention center, the latest setback in owner Dean Spanos' 15-year quest to move the NFL franchise out of Qualcomm Stadium.
Fans of the Bolts I know would prefer the team stay put in what was once known as Jack Murphy Stadium, even if it means tearing the facility down and building a new one. These supporters like the location and its convenient parking. The city and the team, meanwhile, want to plop a new stadium down by the already congested Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego Convention Center and the ballpark where the Padres play.
Even before the office lease in Costa Mesa was revealed last week, the Chargers won approval to join the Rams in the new stadium being built at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Spanos has until Jan. 15 to decide whether he is coming to Los Angeles, in which case the Bolts would share the stadium with the Rams starting in 2019. If the Chargers stay in San Diego, the LA option transfers to the Oakland Raiders, and the Costa Mesa lease would be nixed.
For now, Spanos has agreed to lease 101,000 square feet of office space and a 3.2-acre parcel of land on a Costa Mesa property at 3333 S. Susan St. known as The Hive. “Costa Mesa is prepared to graciously welcome his organization and his family of employees as they make us their home for their new headquarters, practice and training facility,” says Mayor Katrina Foley in a statement.
It's a perfect place for the Bolts because the bushes, plants and trees fronting it are easily penetrable, much like the football team's weak offensive line.
Every which way you go from The Hive you can quickly access the San Diego Freeway, the Costa Mesa Freeway, the Corona del Mar Freeway, South Coast Plaza, SoCo/OC Mix Mart, Metro Pointe and Segerstrom Center for the Arts—just like the many different ways the Chargers have traveled to lose games this season (via fumbles, interceptions, missed field goals and other special teams' mess ups).
At least The Hive's owners have not been flagged for as many penalties as the Chargers have this season. We assume, anyway.
We can report that three new buildings have gone up recently within The Hive, which is fitting because the Chargers will once again be in rebuilding mode over an offseason that cannot start quickly enough.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.