The NFL announced Thursday that a playoff game between the Vikings and Rams, originally scheduled for Southern California, would be played in Arizona.
The NFL announced its contingency plan Wednesday, and Monday night’s game will be played at the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
This is the third game in Los Angeles to be affected this week. A Kings game and a Lakers game were postponed due to the flames.
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The exterior of SoFi Stadium during a 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 authorities, participating clubs and the NFLPA.”
Game time is always the same, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
The Rams had a day off scheduled for Wednesday, although the Los Angeles Chargerswho share SoFi Stadium and travel to Houston for a wild-card game Saturday, limited the time players spent outside during practice due to poor air quality.
State Farm Stadium has played a similar role in the past. In 2003, the Dolphins and Chargers played in Glendale due to the San Diego wildfires. During the COVID season in 2020, 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 and Eaton fires, have devastated communities in the Los Angeles area, including Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The fires burned nearly 30,000 acres during a windy spell in Santa Ana, with at least 130,000 people in the area under evacuation orders. At least five people were killed in the fires and more than 1,000 buildings were destroyed.
This week’s wildfires have brought new attention to the problem of insurers no longer accepting new policies or refusing to renew previous policies in California communities at high risk of wildfires. And prominent entertainment figures have denounced the measures.
Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard during a powerful windstorm January 8, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Times noted that the city had not received at least a tenth of an inch of rain since May 5.
