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NFL's Chargers Announce They're Moving To Los Angeles

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SAN DIEGO (CBSMiami/AP) — For the second time in as many years, an NFL franchise is relocating to Los Angeles.

The San Diego Chargers are moving to LA, where they will join the recently relocated Rams in giving the nation's second-largest media market two NFL teams for the first time in decades.

Team chairman Dean Spanos made the announcement Thursday in a letter posted on the Chargers' Twitter account.

"San Diego has been our home for 56 years. It will always be part of our identity, and my family and I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the support and passion our fans have shared with us over the years. But today, we turn the page and begin an exciting new era as the Los Angeles Chargers," Spanos said in the letter.

The Chargers' decision to move comes less than three months after San Diego voters resoundingly rejected a team-sponsored measure asking for $1.15 billion in increased hotel occupancy taxes to help fund a $1.8 billion downtown stadium and convention center.

They're leaving behind a loyal fan base that cheered for Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow during the Air Coryell years in the 1970s and early 1980s, and for Junior Seau, Stan Humphries and Natrone Means on the Chargers' only Super Bowl team in 1994.

San Diego could become a tenant in the stadium being built in Inglewood for the Rams if the Chargers exercise that option.

(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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