The NFL has officially moved the Minnesota Vikings‘ Wild Card Weekend matchup with the Los Angeles Rams to a new location due to rampant wildfires in Los Angeles.
The NFL announced on Thursday, January 9, that “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 decision was made in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the NFLPA. The game will be televised on ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes at its scheduled 8 p.m. ET time. It is the first time a playoff game has ever had a location change in league history, according to NBC.
https://twitter.com/vikingzfanpage/status/1877478871999684737
Originally a home game for the Rams, Los Angeles fans will have the opportunity to buy tickets on Friday morning at 10 a.m. PT before the general public two hours later.
As of Thursday night, 180,000 Los Angeles residents have evacuated their homes, according to officials.
SoFi Stadium is located 10 miles from the Palisades Fire that has devastated parts of Santa Monica.
Beyond the risks of the fires, the air quality in the Los Angeles area poses a threat to player safety, hence the NFLPA’s involvement.
“The air quality index in the area varied Wednesday from 150 to well above 300, depending on specific locations, with smoke and ash blanketing the region. A rating of 150 is considered ‘very unhealthy,’ according to the system used to measure air pollution. The air quality in Inglewood, California — where SoFi Stadium is located — was 281 as of Wednesday afternoon,” ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry wrote.
While the air quality has improved as the fires are sequestered, the NFL needed to make a decision promptly to accommodate both teams’ travel plans.
Vikings Expected to Have Homefield Advantage Over Rams at Neutral Location
GettyMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell looks on before facing the Detroit Lions.
As unfortunate as the fires in Los Angeles are, the location change is a notable benefit for the Vikings, whose fans have traveled well this season.
The Rams have not only lost the benefit of playing in their own building but must hope that their fans make the trip to Arizona amid the chaos that has engulfed California this week.
“We’ve lost power where I am for a couple of days,” Matthew Stafford said, per the Associated Press. “We’ve been lucky in that regard, that (loss of) power is the worst thing that’s happened to us. Obviously, it’s a tough thing to watch on the news, to be around, to see. Driving around, seeing all that, it’s just really sad to see what’s going on. A bunch of people (are) doing everything they possibly can to try and get things under control and get people back to normal as quickly as possible.”
Betting Spreads Moves in Favor of Vikings After Location Change
The Vikings were slated as 1.5-point favorites to beat the Rams on Monday, but since the location change, spreads across major sportsbooks have moved in favor of the Vikings.
FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings have the Vikings as 2.5-point favorites as of Thursday night. BetMGM has adjusted the spread to 2 points in favor of Minnesota.
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