As Hurricane Ian threatens Florida’s west coast, NFL leaders are preparing to potentially move one of the biggest games of the week, according to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
The matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs is currently scheduled to be played Sunday night in Tampa, but it will be moved to a neutral location if Hurricane Ian hits the Tampa area hard.
Already, the Buccaneers have made their way to Miami to ensure that their practice schedule isn’t thrown off by the storm. But the NFL doesn’t want to hold the Bucs-Chiefs game in south Florida, ESPN reported.
“The NFL does not want to risk taking up state resources to host a game in Miami that could be better utilized in Tampa in the aftermath of the hurricane,” the article said.
The league would likely move the game to a Midwestern city instead. Minneapolis is the leading candidate, since the Minnesota Vikings will be in London facing the New Orleans Saints, ESPN reported.
“I’m being told Minneapolis is preparing to host the game,” tweeted Chiefs insider Soren Petro on Tuesday.
NFL leaders will not make the final call on the location for the game until Wednesday or Thursday, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Some college football programs in Florida have already announced scheduling changes brought on by Hurricane Ian.
“Saturday’s college football game between South Florida and East Carolina in Tampa will be relocated to Florida Atlantic University’s stadium in Boca Raton, on the state’s Atlantic Coast,” The Washington Post reported. “Florida’s home game against Eastern Washington, originally scheduled for noon Eastern on Saturday, has been moved to Sunday at noon Eastern.”