The NFL is monitoring the conditions in the Los Angeles area as several wildfires burn out of control ahead of the Vikings’ wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. If it cannot be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., the game will be moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., the league announced Wednesday night.
Vikings playoff game vs. the Rams will be moved to Arizona if it can’t be played in Los Angeles
The NFL is monitoring conditions as several wildfires burn out of control ahead of the Vikings’ wild-card game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 8, 2025 at 11:23PM
“We continue to prepare to play the Vikings-Rams game as scheduled Monday night at SoFi Stadium,” the league said in a statement. “As with all games, there are contingency plans in the event a change in location is needed. In this instance, the game would be played on Monday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, if necessary. We will continue to closely monitor developments in the area and will remain in contact with public officials, both clubs and the NFLPA.”
The NFL did not give a timeline for its decision.
SoFi Stadium is about 15 miles southeast of the biggest fire in Pacific Palisades and it has a roof, but it’s open on three sides to allow “for a fantastic ocean breeze to flow through the seating bowl,” according to HKS, the architecture firm that designed the building. Concerns over air quality and the allocation of public resources would factor into the league’s planning. More than 1.5 million customers are without power as of Wednesday afternoon, and water shortages and high winds are hampering efforts to contain the fires.
“The NFL’s priority is the safety of the Los Angeles community,” the NFL said. “We are grateful for the tireless efforts of the first responders. Our hearts are with Los Angeles and everyone affected by the fires.”
Regular-season NFL games have been relocated in the past because of natural disasters or severe weather. The Vikings know this well, after having to move December games in 2010 when the Metrodome roof collapsed after a snowstorm. Air quality concerns from wildfires in Northern California imperiled the 49ers’ opener for the 2020 season at Levi’s Stadium.
The NFL has also postponed or delayed playoff games for weather-related reasons, including last season, when a wild-card game between the Steelers and the Bills in Buffalo was moved from Sunday to Monday afternoon because of a snowstorm. But the Vikings-Rams game is already in the latest slot on wild-card weekend (7 p.m. Central time Monday night), and a postponement would be detrimental to the winning team, which has to play again the following weekend.
The Rams said their headquarters in Woodland Hills, about 13 miles north of Pacific Palisades, has not been affected, and no players or staff members had been evacuated. Like the Vikings, the Rams did not practice Wednesday and resume practicing Thursday.
The Los Angeles Chargers, who play a road game in Houston on Saturday afternoon, practice well south of Pacific Palisades in El Segundo and limited their players’ time outdoors Wednesday.
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game Wednesday in their downtown arena against the Calgary Flames. The Lakers are scheduled to play the Hornets in the same arena on Thursday.
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
Looking back at the Vikings' 30-20 loss to the Rams in October reveals that Hall of Fame-worthy cornerback Stephon Gilmore had one of his worst games of the season as the defense struggled to contain Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
