The San Diego Chargers signed a five-year agreement to hold their training camp at the sports complex on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills beginning in 2003, the team announced today. The Chargers will hold training camp this year at the University of California San Diego from July 22 through August 21, marking their twenty-seventh and final season at UCSD. 
 
\"Our goal is to win a championship and the environment at training camp plays a key role in building a winning team,\" said General Manager John Butler. \"Team chemistry and camaraderie are formed during the tough days of camp. By taking the team away from familiar surroundings and personal distractions, it helps the players focus on the task at hand. They spend time together and bond as a team.
 
\"Winning is everything in our business. I can't stand losing. We'll do whatever it takes to help our team win.\"
 
The agreement is between the Chargers and the Anschutz Entertainment Group which broke ground on the complex on the 85-acre site last year. The state-of-the-art training complex is expected to be completed in 2003 and will include a 27,000-seat soccer stadium which will be the home of the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. A 13,000-seat tennis stadium will host, among other events, the Pete Sampras Tennis Academy. The national training center also is the home of the U.S. Soccer Federation. The campus is located in Carson, California, off the 405 freeway, a two-hour drive from downtown San Diego.
 
\"This is going to be one of the premier training facilities in the country. We still want Charger fans to come out and watch practice and connect with the players,\" said Butler. 
 
Cal-State Dominguez Hills will be the eighth training camp site in the 44-year history of the Chargers. The team held its initial training camp in 1960 at Chapman College in Orange, California before holding its camp at the University of San Diego from 1961-62. In 1963, the team trained at Rough Acres Ranch in Boulevard, California, located in the rugged hills east of San Diego. The Chargers also trained in Escondido (1964-68), the University of California at Irvine (1969-73), and at United States International University in San Diego (1974-75) before moving to UCSD. 
 
UCSD has been the home of the Chargers' training camp since 1976. In 1988 the team donated a $1.1 million training facility to improve the athletic facilities for year-round use by the school.