Expectations for Chargers' facility in El Segundo are building

Amenities, expectations for Chargers’ new facility in El Segundo are building

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A construction worker walks through what will be the open lobby area at the Chargers’ future headquarters and practice facility in El Segundo on May 18, 2023. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Members of the media tour the Chargers’ under-construction practice facility in El Segundo on May 18, 2023. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Three new grass practice fields under construction at the Chargers’ new headquarters in El Segundo. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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The open lobby area at the Chargers’ new headquarters that is scheduled to open in the spring of 2024. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A rendering of the team training room is displayed as work continues on the training room at the Chargers’ new headquarters and practice facility. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A rendition of the new roof-top hospitality club at the Chargers’ under-construction headquarters and practice facility in El Segundo. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

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Abraham Garcia, director of project management, walks through what will be the weight room at the Chargers’ new practice facility in El Segundo. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Workers stand on scaffolding overlooking three new grass practice fields at the Chargers’ future practice facility in El Segundo. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A construction worker uses a head lamp while working in the auditorium at the Chargers’ future headquarters and practice facility in El Segundo. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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A look at the Chargers’ 145,000 square foot headquarters and practice facility in El Segundo that is scheduled to open in the spring of 2024. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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Abraham Garcia, director of project management, gives the media a tour of the Chargers’ future headquarters and practice facility in El Segundo. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

By Jeff Miller

Staff Writer

May 18, 2023 2:20 PM PT

On the one-year anniversary of the ground-breaking ceremony, the Chargers hosted a media tour Thursday of their new headquarters and practice facility being built in El Segundo.

The team hopes to host an event here during the 2024 draft and have all operations relocated in time for training camp three months later.

“I’ve been in the development business most of my adult life — over 30 years,” said Fred Maas, the Chargers’ chief of staff, “and it never ceases to amaze me how much can be done in a year.”

Since moving from San Diego before the 2017 season, the Chargers have been operating out of a temporary facility in Costa Mesa. Their new place sits about seven miles from SoFi Stadium.

An under-construction facility covered in scaffolding.

Designed by Gensler Sports, the project includes a 145,000-square-foot main building that will house everything from the players’ locker room to the team’s business offices.

There will be three natural-grass fields on which the Chargers will conduct all practices, starting with training camp. Their final camp in Costa Mesa is set to begin in late July.

The exterior of the building, Maas noted, was founded on the team’s logo.

“The [lightning] bolt really was the inspiration for what we could do,” he said. “How do we take some of the exciting things around that imagery and integrate it into the building in a way that fit and didn’t look hokey but looked genuine to our brand?”

The Chargers’ neighbors in El Segundo will include the Lakers and Kings, both of whom have been based there for years.

“We had our hearts set on the South Bay when we started this process five years ago,” Maas said. “We always thought this was an important focal point.

“We saw a burgeoning fan base here. It had so many positive elements — from the proximity to SoFi, the proximity to LAX, all the teams that were here. … It was just an exciting opportunity that blossomed and came to life.”

Amenities, expectations for Chargers’ new facility in El Segundo are building

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