It was the training ground for San Diego Chargers legends like LaDainian Tomlinson and Phillip Rivers, but now serves as a recruitment and wellness-rehabilitation center for San Diego police officers.
On Wednesday, a host of local law enforcement and community leaders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Police Plaza, a Kearny Mesa facility complete with retrofitted training grounds, a gym and personal wellness spaces at the same address that once housed the Chargers before their move to Los Angeles eight years ago.
“Since the Chargers broke my heart and moved out of San Diego several years ago, this building has taken on more and more responsibility with the Police Department,” Lt. Steve Shebloski said. “It went from housing one division in 2018 with our current chief, who was a captain here, Scott Wahl, to now housing (multiple divisions) and over 200 officers.”
Police Plaza is now home to the department’s community and youth services division, the neighborhood policing division, the training division, the operational support unit and the administrative offices for SWAT. Additionally, the recruiting unit also uses the space for its CAMP program, which prepares recruits for the police academy.
A San Diego Chargers training facility plaque is displayed in a case at San Diego Police Plaza on Wednesday. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The updated facility, which hadn’t seen a facelift since San Diego police moved into it nearly a decade ago, now includes an upgraded lobby, complete with soft lighting, new furniture and a display of historic law enforcement artifacts. Behind it sits a “Hall of Honor,” a hallway that showcases the names, stories and photos of all San Diego police officers who have died in the line of duty since the department was founded more than a century ago.
In the lobby, the old Chargers logo on the floor is now covered, and a 23-foot depiction honoring the former team’s history is now covered by a hand-painted mural showcasing the department’s history. The old team’s general meeting room is now a Taser training room, but the football team’s iconic bolt logo still hangs on the balconies outside the building.
Lightning bolts are seen displayed at San Diego Police Plaza, which was previously the training facility for the San Diego Chargers. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“We get to show the community who we are and how we’ve progressed over the years; how we’ve connected the community,” Shebloski said. “When our training division hosts training that is both regional and local, everybody gets to come in and see the proud history of the department.”
The facility also includes the Chargers’ old weight room, but retrofitted with new equipment emblazoned with the San Diego police badge shield and the department’s motto, “One team, One mission.”
The newly updated gym at San Diego Police Plaza. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
During phase two of construction, officials plan to build a sauna area, a cold plunge, yoga studios and spaces for jiu-jitsu training, officials said. In addition to having personal trainers come in to provide training classes, an important aspect of the building is giving officers a place to heal and focus on their personal wellness, officials said.
“The focus for us with this gym is to really build up morale,” said Capt. Mike Ramsay. “And of course, it’s for the overall wellness of the officers.”
The gym area cost approximately $250,000, paid for by a $1.2 million grant from the Board of State and Community Corrections, funding directed specifically toward officer wellness and mental health. The remainder of the state grant covered other department-wide wellness initiatives, officials said.
A $15,000 donation from the San Diego Police Foundation covered the lobby and Hall of Honors.
