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NFL moves Rams-Vikings playoff game to Arizona
State Farm Stadium in Glendale will host the Wild Card matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings due to raging fires in southern California.
GLENDALE, Ariz. - The National Football League says Monday night's NFC Playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams will be moved to Arizona.
The game is scheduled to kickoff at 6 p.m. on Jan. 13 from State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
The NFL says the game will be moved to State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals, because of raging wildfires in Southern California that have killed at least five people.
Will the NFL move the Vikings/Rams playoff game due to L.A. wildfires?
The Minnesota Vikings are set to face the L.A. Rams next Monday night in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs, but Mother Nature might have a say in that.
Nearly 2,000 structures have been destroyed in the fires and about 130,000 people have been forced to evacuate.
The NFL had previously hoped to keep the game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and waited as long as they could before making the announcement.
"We continue to prepare to play the Vikings-Rams game as scheduled Monday night at SoFi Stadium," the NFL wrote in a statement posted to X. "As will 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."
Has this happened before?
A similar situation happened in 2003 when a game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins was moved to Tempe because of a wildfire.
In 2020, the San Francisco 49ers played two regular-season home games at State Farm Stadium because of coronavirus restrictions in the Bay Area.