The Los Angeles Chargers will have the smallest average attendance this season, but it won’t be for a lack of fans.
The Chargers don’t have a permanent home since making the move from San Diego to L.A. in January, so they’ll play at the StubHub Center until the stadium they’ll share with the Los Angeles Rams opens for the 2020 season. StubHub Center is home to a professional sports team in the Los Angeles Galaxy, but there’s just one problem when it comes to hosting NFL games.
The stadium holds just 27,000 people.
“To be honest, it kind of reminds me of high school,” new Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said Friday, per The Los Angeles Times. “I remember that feeling I had, and I think the guys are gonna feed off that real small, intimate crowd that is right on top of us. I think it’s gonna be fun. I’m really looking forward to it.”
It certainly will be interesting to see NFL games played at such a small venue, especially when you consider the next smallest stadium, the Raiders’ Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, holds nearly double that at 53,286. Lynn could be right about it being an advantage, too, because they should, in theory, sell out every game. Average attendance at any NFL stadium hasn’t dipped below 50,000 since 2011.
Either way, the Chargers will get a major upgrade when Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park opens, as it’s slated to hold 70,240 people and is expandable to 100,000 for major events.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
