NFL announced Thursday that the playoff game between the Vikings and the Rams, originally scheduled for Southern California, will be played in Arizona.
NFL announced a contingency plan On Wednesday and Monday night, the wild-card contest will be played at the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
This is the third game in Los Angeles that has been affected this week. The game between the Kings and the Lakers was postponed due to a fire.
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The exterior of SoFi Stadium during the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams on January 3, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Kevin Reece/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The game was moved “in the interest of public safety,” the NFL said in a statement. “The decision was made in consultation with public officials, participating clubs and the NFLPA.”
Game time is still the same, starting at 8:00 PM ET.
The Rams had an off day on Wednesday, although they Los Angeles Chargerswho share SoFi Stadium and travel to Houston on Saturday for a wild-card game, have limited players’ time outside during practice because of poor air quality.
State Farm Stadium has played a similar role in the past. In 2003, the Dolphins and Chargers played in Glendale because of the San Diego wildfire. During the 2020 COVID season, the 49ers played three “home” games there.
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, without fans during the San Francisco 49ers’ game against the Seattle Seahawks. (Kiyoshi Mio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Several active wildfires, including the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, have devastated communities in the Los Angeles area, including Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Fires have burned nearly 30,000 acres during the Santa Ana winds, with at least 130,000 people in the area under evacuation orders. The fires killed at least five people and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings.
This week’s fires have drawn new attention to the issue of insurers no longer taking on new policies or refusing to renew existing policies in California’s high-fire-risk communities. Prominent figures from the world of entertainment also called for moves.
Flames from the Palisades Fire engulf a building on Sunset Boulevard during a severe storm on Jan. 8, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
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The Los Angeles Times noted that the city had not received at least one-tenth of an inch of rain since May 5.
Eric Revell and Scott Thompson of Fox News contributed to this report.
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