Season ticket sales have taken off

COSTA MESA >> The Chargers circled 45,611 as a goal to surpass for season-ticket sales in 2021 because that was the number they averaged for their final 20 years in San Diego.

They have “blown past” their goal and are coming off their best sixth-month stretch of season-ticket sales in at least two decades, according to a Chargers spokesperson.

The Chargers arrived in Los Angeles in 2017 after spending 56 years in San Diego. This will be the team’s first season at SoFi Stadium with fans in the stands.

“We were having months where we’re selling 4,500 (season) tickets a month,” said Fred Maas, the team’s chief of staff. “We’ve had several months where we’ve been in that range, so it’s been a really exciting period for us to watch it all come together.”

Maas credited the ticket sales boost to the return of normalcy from the COVID-19 pandemic, a new stadium and the excitement surrounding the team with star quarterback Justin Herbert, who’s coming off a historic rookie season.

The Chargers will get a glimpse of their growing fanbase Sunday when they host an intrasquad scrimmage at SoFi Stadium, which includes a pre-practice concert outside the stadium with rock band The Offspring. The team’s first preseason is scheduled for

Aug. 14 against the Rams, who also call SoFi Stadium home.

For the Chargers’ first three seasons in Los Angeles, they played home games at Dignity Health Sports Park, a 27,000-seat venue in Carson. Opposing fans often outnumbered Chargers fans at the soccer venue.

Last year, the Chargers moved into SoFi Stadium, which seats 70,000, but played without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic.