The Chargers have officially announced they’re leaving San Diego and moving to LA. The switch means Los Angeles will have two NFL teams for the first time in decades.

In a letter published on Thursday morning, Chargers owner Dean Spanos confirmed the team would be relocating in time for the new season. The Chargers had until a league-mandated deadline of Tuesday to make a decision on their future.

Spanos wrote: “After much deliberation, I have made the decision to relocate the Chargers to Los Angeles, beginning with the 2017 NFL season. San Diego has been our home for 56 years. It will always be part of our identity, and my family and I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the support and passion our fans have shared with us over the years.

The Chargers unveiled a new working logo shortly after the announcement was made. The team quickly changed its name on social media, too.

Spanos went on: “Our entire organization knows that we have a tremendous amount of work to do. We must earn the respect and support of LA football fans. We must get back to winning. And we must make a meaningful contribution, not just on the field, but off the field, as a leader and a champion for the community.”

After almost 20 years without an NFL team, Los Angeles now has two of them: the Rams returned last season after nearly 20 years in St Louis. The Chargers will share the Rams’ new stadium in Inglewood, which is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed in 2019. Until then, the Chargers will play at the StubHub Center in Carson, which holds about 27,000 for soccer, but will be able to hold about 30,000 for football.

LA mayor Eric Garcetti said: “The Chargers will make our NFL tradition even richer, and give sports fans everywhere one more reason to be in Los Angeles. I congratulate Dean Spanos and the entire Chargers organization, and look forward to the extraordinary contributions they will make to our entire region.”

The controversial move north comes after the team and public officials failed to agree upon a stadium plan that would have kept the franchise in San Diego. In November, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have raised hotel occupancy taxes to help pay for a proposed $1.8bn downtown stadium project.

Relations have been strained for years between the Chargers, who have sought a big public subsidy to replace ageing Qualcomm Stadium, and City Hall, which was unwilling to make significant contributions from taxpayers towards a new arena.

Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, said last month that “no great progress” had been made in finding a stadium solution in San Diego and owners were not optimistic about the Chargers’ future in the city.

On Thursday, San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer was in combative mood, and said at a press conference he would not be held to ransom by Dean Spanos.

“At the end of the day, the Chargers wanted a lot more taxpayer money than we could ever agree to,” Faulconer said. “We could not support a deal that is not in the best interests of San Diego. Dean Spanos made a bad decision and he will regret it. San Diego didn’t lose the Chargers. The Chargers just lost San Diego.”

The team leaves behind a loyal fan base that cheered for Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow during the Air Coryell years in the 1970s and early 1980s, and for Junior Seau, Stan Humphries and Natrone Means on the Chargers’ only Super Bowl team in 1994.

It’s not the first time, however, that the Chargers have played in LA. During their inaugural season in 1960, the then-American Football League franchise played in Los Angeles before moving to San Diego the following season.