Chargers president Dean Spanos and San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders announced on Monday that the team will continue to play in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium through the 2012 season and that the two sides are still hoping to work out a deal to build a new stadium in the city.

"The City of San Diego and the Chargers continue to work closely together to explore publicly acceptable ways to build a Super Bowl-quality stadium on the bus maintenance yard site in the East Village of downtown San Diego," Spanos and Sanders said in a joint statement. "To give this ongoing process every chance to succeed, the Chargers have announced that the team will not trigger the lease's termination clause in 2012. Both the Mayor's Office and the Chargers look forward to continuing their joint efforts to build a multi-use stadium that will benefit the entire region."

The way we see it

This announcement comes as little surprise, as the Chargers had few other options besides remaining in San Diego for the 2012 season. There is speculation, however, that the team might opt to move to Los Angeles if a deal with San Diego cannot be worked out and a new stadium is built in L.A.