SAN DIEGO — Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos said Friday that the team will play in San Diego in 2016, and he’ll work with politicians and the business community to try to resolve a long, bitter battle over a new stadium.

Spanos’ statement was posted on the team website shortly after a report said the Chargers had reached a deal to join the Los Angeles Rams in a stadium expected to open in Inglewood, California, in 2019.

“I am committed to looking at this with a fresh perspective and new sense of possibility,” Spanos’ statement said.

It also came shortly after Spanos invited Mayor Kevin Faulconer and County Supervisor Ron Roberts to his home for an afternoon meeting.

“I am committed to looking at this with a fresh perspective and new sense of possibility,” Spanos’ statement said.

The development was a relief to fans who feared the Chargers would leave their home of 55 seasons and join the Rams in Los Angeles in the fall.

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Spanos said he hoped the Chargers would remain in San Diego “for the long term in a new stadium.”

“I have met with Mayor Faulconer and Supervisor Roberts and I look forward to working closely with them and the business community to resolve our stadium dilemma,” Spanos said. “We have an option and an agreement with the Los Angeles Rams to go to Inglewood in the next year, but my focus is on San Diego.

“This has been our home for 55 years, and I want to keep the team here and provide the world-class stadium experience you deserve,” Spanos said. “Everyone on both sides of the table in San Diego must now determine the best next steps and how to deploy the additional resources provided by the NFL.”

Spanos’ announcement came just more than two weeks after NFL owners voted to approve Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s plans to build a stadium in Inglewood, near Los Angeles. A competing proposal by Spanos and Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis to build a stadium in Carson was defeated.

While the owners gave Spanos the option to relocate to Los Angeles, the league said the Chargers and Raiders would each get an additional $100 million to try to get new stadium deals in their home markets. That money is in addition to a $200 million loan from the league available to each team.

“We are very supportive of the decision by Dean Spanos to continue his efforts in San Diego and work with local leaders to develop a permanent stadium solution,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “NFL ownership has committed $300 million to assist in the cost of building a new stadium in San Diego. I have pledged the league’s full support in helping Dean to fulfill his goal.”

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The next steps are uncertain. Faulconer has insisted a stadium measure be put on the ballot. Faulconer and Roberts have held firm on their offers of public money: $200 million from the city and $150 from the county. Their proposal calls for the Chargers to contribute $353 million, which could be defrayed by a naming rights deal.

CHIEFS: Kansas City signed tight end Travis Kelce to a $46 million, five-year extension, ensuring that the blossoming star will be with the club for the foreseeable future.

The deal includes $20.5 million in guarantees, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Chiefs did not disclose terms of the contract, which the 26-year-old Kelce signed while in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

“He’s a talented football player that has become an important piece to what we do offensively,” Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey said in a statement. “Travis is a high-character guy and a leader.”

Kelce was entering the final year of his rookie contract, signed in 2013. He is coming off a breakout season that included 72 catches for 875 yards and five touchdowns.


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