While the Arizona Cardinals season is over and won’t be hosting another home game until August, NFL football is set to be played at State Farm Stadium this weekend due to the wildfires in Southern California.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With the NFC Wild Card playoff matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams scheduled for Sunday, the wildfires have been so devastating that the NFL announced the change in venues.
“In the interest of public safety, Monday’s Vikings-Rams Wild Card game has been moved from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA to State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals, the NFL announced today,” a press release said.” The decision was made in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the NFLPA.”
— NFL345 (@NFL345) January 10, 2025
Multiple cities have been ravaged by the flames and multiple people have died during this catastrophic time in California. Homes, buildings, cars and other prized possessions have been burned or left behind and families affected are dealing with a massive amount of uncertainty in their lives.
Even though this will be played at a neutral site, the Rams were going to be the home team if the wildfires were not going on, so it will be interesting to see the crowd that shows up now that the game is in Arizona.
The rare relocation of games doesn’t happen often but this isn’t the first time Arizona has been a location for another California team to play due to wildfires. Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in Tempe hosted the then-San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins in a regular-season matchup in 2003.
The game between the Vikings and Rams kicks off at 6 p.m. MST.
Cardinals’ stadium may host Rams-Vikings playoff game due to LA wildfires
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, ASU Athletics and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
