https://sports.yahoo.com/los-angeles-fires-nfl-moves-vikings-rams-wild-card-game-to-arizona-003811617.html
The wild-card game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings is being moved to Arizona, the NFL announced Thursday.
The game remains scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. PT, but will now be played at the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. PT on Friday through SeatGeek for Rams season ticket-holders, while the general public can start buying at noon.
Ticket-holders for the game in Los Angeles will receive either a refund or a credit toward their season tickets next season.
The league said the decision was made “in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the [NFL Players Association].” The game will still be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
It had been an open question for days whether the NFL would go ahead with its playoff game, with the Rams releasing a statement earlier Thursday confirming Arizona was the contingency plan. A combination of gale-force winds and months of drought sparked multiple fires in the hills above Los Angeles on Tuesday, which have since displaced tens of thousands of people.
The fires are still going as of Thursday night, most notably the Palisades fire that razed the Pacific Palisades neighborhood and the Eaton fire hitting the Pasadena area. Neither are particularly close to the Rams’ SoFi Stadium, but the situation has put an incredible strain on local resources and significantly impacted the city’s air quality.
The Rams were already underdogs against the Minnesota Vikings via BetMGM, who went 14-3 during the regular season but fell short of the division title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a Sunday night loss to the Detroit Lions. The Rams could have faced the Washington Commanders instead, but opted to sit several offensive starters against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend. The resulting loss pushed them down to the less enviable No. 4 seed.
The NBA moved earlier Thursday to postpone the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Charlotte Hornets, previously scheduled for that evening. Lakers head coach JJ Redick is among the many people to lose their homes. The Hornets remain scheduled to face the Clippers in Inglewood on Saturday unless the league acts again.
The NHL’s Los Angeles Kings also postponed their Wednesday night home game against the Calgary Flames.
https://sports.yahoo.com/los-angeles-fires-nfl-moves-vikings-rams-wild-card-game-to-arizona-003811617.html
