US Trends

where did the chargers used to play

The Chargers used to play in San Diego, mainly at what was long known as Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium.

Short answer

  • The team played in San Diego from 1961 through the 2016 season.
  • In San Diego, they first used Balboa Stadium (1961–1966), then San Diego Stadium/Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm Stadium from 1967–2016.
  • Before and after that San Diego run, they have been based in Los Angeles (including the LA Memorial Coliseum in 1960 and temporary use of Dignity Health Sports Park from 2017–2019).

Mini timeline

  • 1960: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (first season, AFL).
  • 1961–1966: Balboa Stadium in San Diego.
  • 1967–2016: San Diego Stadium → Jack Murphy Stadium → Qualcomm Stadium (same building, different names).
  • 2017–2019: Dignity Health Sports Park (then called StubHub Center) in Carson, while the new LA stadium was being built.

Quick HTML table of past home stadiums

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Years</th>
      <th>City</th>
      <th>Stadium</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>1960</td>
      <td>Los Angeles</td>
      <td>Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [web:5][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>1961–1966</td>
      <td>San Diego</td>
      <td>Balboa Stadium [web:5][web:3][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>1967–2016</td>
      <td>San Diego</td>
      <td>San Diego Stadium / Jack Murphy Stadium / Qualcomm Stadium [web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2017–2019</td>
      <td>Los Angeles (Carson)</td>
      <td>Dignity Health Sports Park (StubHub Center) [web:5][web:3]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Extra context

  • The move from Los Angeles to San Diego after 1960 came because the LA market was already crowded and the team struggled with attendance.
  • When they returned to LA in 2017, they used the smaller Carson venue as a temporary home before moving into SoFi Stadium starting in 2020.

TL;DR: When people ask “where did the Chargers used to play,” they almost always mean San Diego’s Qualcomm (Jack Murphy) Stadium, where the team spent about 50 years.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.