Field of screams
NFL cancels Mexico City trip, moves Chiefs-Rams to LA
The most hyped game of the year — a potential electric Super Bowl preview — has a new, safer venue.
Monday night’s Rams-Chiefs matchup, which was slated to take place in Mexico City, is being moved to Los Angeles. The league and its players had been concerned about the field at Azteca Stadium, to the point the possibility of a boycott was floated.
In a news release, the NFL said it determined the recently re-sodded field at Mexico City’s historic stadium “does not meet NFL standards for playability and consistency, and will not meet those standards by next Monday.”
“The combination of a difficult rainy season and a heavy multievent calendar of events at the stadium have resulted in significant damage to the field that presents unnecessary risks to player safety and makes it unsuitable to host an NFL game,” said Mark Waller, the league’s executive vice president of international. “As a result, we have determined that moving the game is the right decision, and one that we needed to announce now in order to allow our teams and fans to make alternate arrangements.”
The hybrid grass at Azteca started to deteriorate because of wear and tear from soccer teams Cruz Azul and Club America. Aside from being overused for soccer matches, Azteca has hosted a number of concerts recently, including a few by singer Shakira, which damaged the surface.
Multiple players on the Rams and Chiefs had been “strongly considering” not playing due to the horrid condition of the field, ESPN.com re- ported, citing sources.
“It’s not fair to risk our health,” one player said on background.
“The field is not in the best condition and that concerns me for the next tournament,” Cruz Azul coach Pedro Caixinha said. “We all know that it’s not right, that it has not been right and that it will not be all right, but those are the circumstances, and if we can help, we will do it.”
The game was to count as a home game for the Rams and they were required to keep the Los Angeles Coliseum available as a backup in case of a problem. They immediately announced plans for ticket sales starting Wednesday, with season-ticket holders allowed to buy their own seats and up to four more.