Because of construction delays, the Chargers won’t move into their permanent stadium in Los Angeles until 2020.
And even though his contract isn’t that long, and even though he’s already 35 years old, Philip Rivers wants to play there.
During an interview with Rich Eisen of the NFL Network, Rivers said he wants to still be in a Chargers uniform beyond their three years in the 30,000-seat StubHub Center.
“I hope to still be playing football in 2020, and certainly I hope I’m still playing here,” Rivers said. “So yeah, I hope to get to see that stadium then. That’s a long way out. I’ve learned to just take them one year at a time and one game at a time at this point. I’m certainly thankful I’ve been able to be out there for all of them since 2006.
“I don’t take that for granted. And hopefully I’m still playing well enough and we’ve won enough football games that I will be able to trot out there in 2020 in that new stadium.”
Rivers turns 36 in December. And while there were reports early on that he wasn’t wild about hauling his family out of San Diego, he’s embracing the move now (such that he has a choice).
“I really am excited about embracing this chapter, both from an organizational standpoint and then personally in my career,” he said. “It’s a new market and new fan base. I do think over time, at least it seems like more and more of the fans that we’ve had that are in San Diego are kind of getting more and more warmed up and excited.
“I’ve had a bunch of people tell me ‘we’re coming up and we’ll be up there for a game.’ I think if we can get it going we truly can be — and I know the Rams are already up there — but it’s kind of Southern California’s team right there in L.A.”
The Chargers at least have the advantage of having an established quarterback, which the Rams do not. But it remains to be seen which — if either — team the city truly embraces.