Chargers’ new home is open and ready for training camp

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Chargers moved into their new facility in El Segundo and showed off the 150,000-acre home named "The Bolt" to the media on Thursday afternoon.

Fred Maas, the Chargers' Chief of Staff and Counselor, had envisioned it since the team moved to Los Angeles in 2017.

"I was taking some of the players on a tour, and I realized Joe Alt was 13 years old when I started this (project), and now he's a first-round pick," Maas said.

He toured numerous facilities, including the Chargers' new neighbors, the L.A. Lakers and Kings, while looking at LAFC's blueprints. It was a complicated job that required some hard work and patience.

The team was previously in Costa Mesa, a 45-minute drive from the new facility, in a condensed space that other companies shared.

Their 14-acre new location is 10 minutes from SoFi Stadium and 5 minutes from LAX, depending on traffic.

"We always knew we were coming here," Maas said of L.A. County. "It was extremely important to the brand and who we are and the identity of the team. It's not easy finding the opportunity to build a complex like this. This was a parking lot for the Raytheon Corporation, that's what made it possible. They had 55 acres they were opening up for development, and this became an opportunity for us. It wasn't an opportunity when I started. It emerged over the course of time."

As one is walking into the facility, there is a "Chargers Walk of Fame" before reaching the doors to enter. It features all 43 members in the Chargers Hall of Fame, from Frank Buncom to Dan Fouts to Antonio Gates, inspired by the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

When first walking in, the featured attraction is a three-story Samsung ISC Indoor LED Display showing highlights of the Chargers. The massive display had many highlights of $262-million quarterback Justin Herbert, which was no surprise. 

The locker room is also on the ground floor. When walking in, the lockers have gear in them, but only two have name plates: Herbert and safety Derwin James. The nameplate features the player's name and number, as most do, but it has a Jim Harbaugh twist: the university, high school name, and high school recruiting ranking are on there as well. Herbert was a three-star recruit, while James was a five-star.

Walking out of the locker room with three football fields, which Maas said were "non-negotiable" because they wanted all three phases of a team to have a field. 

"How do we create a world-class facility?" he said. "Nothing is ever perfect, but I think we came pretty close. We had some basic parameters we needed. Three grass fields became non-negotiable. Setting up an environment for our players that was equaled by no one was non-negotiable."

At the end of the building was the weight training room that had "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen blasting. The man behind the music? Executive Director of Player Performance Ben Herbert's playlist.

The ground floor also features a lab/rehab pool, a sauna, a steam room, medical space etc.

The second floor was interesting because outside the meeting rooms are about 10 yards of turf that can be an extension of the classroom. For example, if the offensive line is in a meeting and Mike Devlin, the offensive line coach, wants them to go over something instead of going down to the field, they have the turf.

Maas said that the team paid close attention to the NFLPA report cards, where the team got an F, which was 31st out of 32 teams, and they took it seriously. They hired Wolfgang Puck to cater their dining hall food, which features a juice bar, salad bar, fruit bar, and various options. The headliner is the pizza oven, which is a humongous Chargers helmet made out of mosaic tiles.

Their third floor features a private members-only club with an outdoor balcony and bar that overlooks the practice fields. From there, one can even see SoFi Stadium.

It is about 95% complete, according to Maas, with them still needing T.V.s put up, tests from systems, and various other little things.

"It's incredible," Maas said. "We broke ground May 19, 2022. We laid out a schedule when we got started that we would open between June 8 and June 15, and on June 8, 2024, we opened our doors."

They also had to make some changes when the team hired Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz, who gave their suggestions on some features they wanted added.

As previously stated, Maas said they took notice when they finished 30th in the NFLPA report cards with food/cafeteria, locker room, training room, and weight room received less than a passing grade.

Players will take the field on July 24th for their first training camp practice at their new facility, open to 1,500 fans. "The Bolt" is a dream now a reality for the Spanos family as a new ear begins for the team.

"We're ready for camp," Maas said.