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The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The club began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), and spent its first season in Los Angeles, before moving to San Diego in 1961. The Chargers joined the NFL as result of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, and played their home games at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers had been the only NFL team based in Southern California since the Raiders and Rams moved out of Los Angeles in 1994. On January 12, 2016, the Rams were approved by the NFL to relocate back to Los Angeles for the 2016 NFL season, and the Chargers were given a one-year option to join the Rams in the Los Angeles area. Team chairman and CEO Dean Spanos, however, announced on January 29, 2016, that the Chargers would remain in San Diego for the 2016 season.
The Chargers and Raiders announced on February 19, 2015, plans for a privately financed $1.7 billion stadium that the two teams would build in Carson, California if they were to move to the Los Angeles market. Both teams stated that they would continue to attempt to get stadiums built in their respective cities. However, on January 12, 2016, the NFL owners rejected this proposal in favor of a rival proposal by the Rams to build a stadium in Inglewood, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles.[9] At the same time, the NFL gave the Chargers an option through January 2017 to negotiate a lease at the Inglewood Stadium, which is expected to open in time for the 2019 NFL season. If the Chargers exercise that option, they would be authorized to relocate to the Los Angeles area at any time before 2019. Additionally, on January 14, 2016, the team filed a trademark application for the mark LOS ANGELES CHARGERS. According to the trademark filing, the application is based upon an alleged intent to use the mark with goods and services that would typically be associated with running, promoting and marketing a football team. Owner Dean Spanos officially announced a return to Los Angeles on January 12, 2017.