Costa Mesa headquarters and training site awaits relocating Chargers
The San Diego Chargers’ long-rumored and now-official move to Los Angeles affects not just the City of Angels but the City of the Arts as well.
The National Football League franchise’s announcement Thursday that it plans to pull up stakes from its longtime home and move this year means the Chargers are a big step closer to moving into an office complex in Costa Mesa.
The team agreed last month to lease part of the Hive — located north of the 405 Freeway at 3333 Susan St. — and an adjacent parcel to use as an initial headquarters, training and practice facility if it decided to relocate.
The site contains three two-story office buildings totaling about 184,000 square feet. The Chargers’ lease is for the largest of the three, Building C, which is nearly 102,000 square feet.
The Chargers also plan to lease an adjacent 3.2-acre parcel called “The Corner.”
A representative of SteelWave, which owns and manages the Hive, declined to comment about the Chargers’ lease Thursday.
The Chargers did not respond to messages seeking comment.
In a statement last month when the lease agreement was disclosed, Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley said, “We are elated that the Chargers organization has selected Costa Mesa, the City of the Arts, as their new home if the L.A. stadium option is exercised.”
She added that the city is “prepared to graciously welcome” the organization and its employees.
The rebranded Los Angeles Chargers plan to move into a new stadium in Inglewood that is scheduled to open in 2019. The team will share that facility with the Los Angeles Rams, who moved from St. Louis last year.
While the stadium is being built, the Chargers will play their home games at the StubHub Center in Carson.
Costa Mesa officials have met with Chargers representatives in recent weeks to discuss what sort of permits the team will need for the Hive property, city spokesman Tony Dodero said Thursday.
No official plans have been submitted yet, but Dodero said work on the site likely will entail some tenant improvements to the building and repurposing the adjacent land into training and practice fields.
“It’s all preliminary at this point,” Dodero said. “I imagine we’ll know more soon.”
There’s no definitive timeline for when the Chargers might look to pull the necessary permits, but Dodero said anything the team needs likely can be handled by city staff and won’t require review by the Planning Commission or City Council.
“I’m sure now that this is official, they’re going to be solidifying all that kind of stuff in the next few weeks,” Dodero said.
It’s not yet known whether the Chargers’ facility in Costa Mesa will be a long-term fixture. The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that the Chargers are searching for a permanent location.
From Costa Mesa’s perspective, though, “it’s not our impression that this is a temporary facility,” Dodero said.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
