The serious fires affecting various sectors of Los Angeles, and which left a scene of destruction in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, forced a change of venue for the NFL playoffs game between Rams vs Vikings, scheduled for Monday at 8 pm (EST) on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes.
The game was going to be played at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the home of the Rams, but now it will be played at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, in the metropolitan area of Phoenix, the venue of the Arizona Cardinals.
The SoFi Stadium is located in the neighborhood of Inglewood, an area close to the Palisades fire.
Why did the NFL decide to change the location of the game?
Since the emergency began on Tuesday, the NFL has been monitoring the situation, and on Thursday night made the decision "after consulting with authorities, teams, and the players' union."
In a statement, "public safety interest" was cited as the main reason.
Furthermore, this Thursday another fire started in an area a few miles from the Rams' training complex in the Woodland Hills neighborhood, prompting the team to cancel the scheduled player availability for the media.
For the Rams vs Vikings game in Arizona, tickets will go on sale on Friday at noon for the general public through SeatGeek.
At this moment, Los Angeles is affected by five wildfires: the ones in Palisades and Eaton (near Pasadena) are the largest and are still far from being contained.
The Vikings are the favorites for the game
The Minnesota Vikings (14-3) lost last Monday in Detroit against the Lions, and with that, they gave up the chance to be champions of the NFC North Division and get a bye in the first round of the playoffs for having the best record in the National Conference in the regular season.
On the contrary, with the defeat they ended up as a wildcard team and therefore will have to face the Los Angeles Rams (10-7) as visitors, champions of the West Division. However, the favoritism is on Minnesota for their offense and their better campaign.
The NFL playoffs start this Saturday at 4:30 with the match between Texans vs Chargers from the American Conference.