The NFL has a contingency plan.
If Monday night’s playoff matchup between the Rams and Vikings cannot be played in Southern California due to the area’s devastating wildfires, the game would be moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., the NFL said.
The game, which the Rams are currently scheduled to host at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., would still happen Monday if it were moved to the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
“We continue to prepare to play the Vikings-Rams game as scheduled Monday night at SoFi Stadium,” the NFL said in a statement.
That statement followed an earlier one Wednesday in which the NFL confirmed it was closely monitoring the circumstances in Los Angeles ahead of the NFC Wild-Card game between the fourth-seeded Rams and fifth-seeded Vikings.
The NFC’s acknowledgment came as three major fires caused widespread destruction in Los Angeles, where, as of Thursday morning, officials had confirmed five deaths and issued evacuation orders for at least 130,000 people.
Extreme winds and drought conditions fueled the blazes during a season in which wildfires are atypical.
Much of the devastation occurred in the Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood about 20 miles west of downtown Los Angeles and about 20 miles northwest of Inglewood.
SoFi Stadium could host both the AFC and NFC Championship games in two weeks, as the Los Angeles Chargers also call the 70,000-seat venue home. The Chargers are the No. 5 seed in the AFC and will begin the playoffs with a road game in Houston on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Chargers had their offensive and defensive units practice separately at their facility in nearby El Segundo, Calif., which allowed players to spend less time on the field amid the area’s poor air quality.
“We’re trying to keep everybody safe and healthy as much as possible and also at the same time get our preparation done for the game,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said.
SoFi Stadium, meanwhile, has a roof but is not a fully enclosed dome, as it features openings along its sides.
Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. was postponed Wednesday due to the fires.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach J.J. Redick said his family was among those to evacuate the Palisades.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was among the thousands of people to experience a power outage, according to ESPN’s Pat McAfee, who said Rodgers canceled a scheduled appearance Wednesday on his afternoon talk show.
“He’s in the middle of it,” McAfee said. “He said he has friends and neighbors that have lost everything in these fires.”
