Vikings-Rams wild-card game to be played in Arizona amid Los Angeles wildfires

The NFL wild-card round playoff matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams will no longer take place at SoFi Stadium.

Instead, the two teams will play Monday’s scheduled game at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, as wildfires continue to spread through Southern California, the NFL announced Thursday. 

The announcement came shortly after the Rams canceled their player media availability following Thursday’s practice. A new fire emerged in the West Hills neighborhood on Thursday, an area where many Rams players and staffers live.

Prior to Thursday’s announcement, the league said it planned to keep the Monday night game between the Vikings and Rams in Los Angeles. However, it also put in a contingency plan in case the situation in Southern California worsened. As of Thursday evening, there were at least 180,000 residents evacuated with thousands of structures destroyed. 

Monday’s game is one of a few that’s already been impacted due to the wildfires. The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings have each postponed games since Wednesday.

Tickets for Monday’s game will be available for Rams season-ticket holders at 10 p.m. PT on Friday morning. The general public will be able to purchase tickets two hours later. 

The Rams and several players also went on social media to offer their support to the community in recent days.

The Los Angeles Chargers, who will travel to play the Houston Texans on Saturday, pledged $200,000 to wildfire relief efforts. 

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.