The Chargers have "worked furiously for months to upgrade" StubHub Center before the team's preseason home opener on Sunday night, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. TIMES. The club has had to "adjust the facility to accommodate the larger crowds expected for football, from adding seats, parking, concession stands and restrooms to a massive expansion of the press box." The bleachers in the second deck on the east side were "replaced by tip-up seats and moved to the berm on the north side, adding 1,000 seats." A "new section of upper-level bleachers, which will seat 330, was erected in the southeast corner." The stadium's 43 luxury suites have been "renovated with new seats, furniture, community tables, and engineered hardwood floors instead of dated carpet." Fans also will be able to "use the restrooms and concession stands at the 8,000-seat tennis stadium next door." There will be "at least 16 food trucks" and "several large-screen televisions for the viewing of early games." The Chargers will have "full use of the American Express Stadium Club, which seats about 250 on the south side," as well as 14 cabanas that "seat four to six people" located just outside the club. Fans will be able to "see players coming in and out of the locker rooms" from the Jim Beam Champions Lounge. The press box received a "major face lift," as capacity was boosted from about 35 to 53 and floors were "constructed on the roof of the luxury suites so an auxiliary press box could be built on both sides of the main box." The new configuration will "accommodate more than 200 media members." Two new radio booths also were "built outside the south side of the press box" (L.A. TIMES, 8/10).
