In the NFL, you find stadiums with deep history like Soldier Field, which has been standing strong for over a century. On the flip side, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, despite being unveiled in September 2020, has raised a lot of eyebrows. The $5 billion modern gem seemingly lacks adequate locker room facilities, and it even caught the attention of former Chiefs OT Mitchell Schwartz.
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Mitchell Schwartz, the ex-offensive lineman, recently engaged in a Q&A session on X (formerly Twitter). When a football fan asked about the best and worst visiting locker rooms, Schwartz openly shared his insights. He wrote, “Best: Denver, Dallas. Worst: Chargers (new stadium still sucks for the locker room)”
Currently, the Los Angeles Chargers share the stadium with the Los Angeles Rams as tenants. While both teams enjoy spacious and attractive locker rooms, the visiting locker rooms tell a different story. Former Raiders’ head coach Jon Gruden found them so perplexing that he likened them to a “maze”, calling it the most bizarre thing he had ever seen.
When another user on social media probed Mitchell Schwartz to elaborate on why the Chargers’ visiting locker rooms are subpar, he highlighted two key aspects. First, limited space, and second, the state of the toilets. Going into detail, Schwartz explained that the confined space leads to a hot and sweaty atmosphere after games, with poor ventilation preventing it from cooling down.
This isn’t the Chargers’ first encounter with criticism about their visitor’s locker rooms. Former fullback Chris Gronkowski once accused them, back when they were in San Diego, of having the worst visitor locker rooms at their home stadium there as well.
The NFL has 32 teams, each playing both home and away games throughout the season in 30 dedicated stadiums. Interestingly, four teams share two stadiums – the Giants and Jets in New York at MetLife Stadium, and the Rams and Chargers in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium. However, soon the Chargers will have their new stadium ready by the start of this season.
How did the Chargers shift from partnering with the Raiders to teaming up with the Rams?
Back in 2015, there were reports about the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders considering a move to Los Angeles. In the final stages, the two teams planned to share a new stadium in Carson. The Carson, California City Council, gave unanimous approval to the billion-dollar NFL stadium project for the Chargers and Raiders.
The estimated cost of the stadium was over $1.7 billion, set to be constructed on a 168-acre former landfill, with a seating capacity ranging from 65,000 to 75,000 spectators. However, despite board approval, there were delays in the construction of the stadium.
In 2017, the Chargers bid farewell to San Diego, relocating to Los Angeles. They played in a soccer stadium for three seasons, expecting a new home turf. Meanwhile, in 2020, the Raiders left Oakland, choosing Las Vegas as their new base. They constructed Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, now their home turf and the Chargers also shifted to SoFi Stadium alongside the Los Angeles Rams and continue to call it home.
There’s no update on when they’ll host home games in their new stadium. But when that happens, the spotlight will likely be on the visitors’ locker room. Given the not-so-great feedback from current and past stadiums, some even wonder if they might intentionally keep it challenging for visiting teams.
