PRACTICE MADE PERFECT: There are three natural turf practice fields at The Bolt. (VN Staff)
Players report to Gensler-designed ‘The Bolt’ on July 23
The Los Angeles Chargers have a new home of their own in the form of a $250 million practice facility called The Bolt, in El Segundo, California, 7 miles from SoFi Stadium, where the NFL team plays its home games.
The 150,000-square-foot, three-level facility is situated on 14 acres in a South Bay community astride Los Angeles International Airport where the NBA Los Angeles Lakers practice facility and office headquarters, at UCLA Health Training Center, is also located.
Even the region’s flagship newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, is now located in El Segundo.
The project, designed by Gensler, broke ground in 2021.
According to published reports, Continental Development Corp. and Mar Ventures Inc., both based in El Segundo, used a $276 million loan to develop the project with Continental acting as landlord.
The facility is already in use by team and business operations staff. The Chargers report to training camp on July 23 and begin practicing the following day.
The weight room opens t0 three full-length, natural turf fields, which can be shifted 90 degrees depending on the wind and sun angle. Two Samsung boards showing stats, plays, down and distance face the fields.
Samsung screens are situated throughout the facility. A company representative said there are seven different Samsung products in use in dozens of applications on the site, including a three-story screen in the atrium/lobby area, which lead to glass-in spaces for meetings and press conference. Each room in the facility has 4K signage ranging from 43 to 85 inches. Fans attending training camp will see Samsung XRB outdoor LED ribbon displays.
The food is provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering.
COOKING GOOD: A chef stands near a Chargers-themed pizza oven at The Bolt, The NFL Chargers’ new practice facility and team headquarters. (VN Staff)
The kitchen area, which prominently features a pizza oven in the form of a Chargers’ helmet, serves team and business personnel, who are generally separate by floors and sides of the building.
Tickets to 12 practices are open and free to attend, but tickets must be obtained through the team’s website.
The facility also features a 10,000-square-foot event space, LUX Lounge, with 3,500 square feet of balcony, that can operate separately from the rest of the building and will be available through a membership model. It can hold 400-500 people. Sponsors and suite holders get first dibs on those memberships, a team official said.
