The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams game, which was scheduled to take place in Mexico City on November 19, has been moved as a result of the Estadio Azteca’s playing surface not meeting NFL standards.
Following a combination of recent bad weather and hosting a number of events, the playing surface at the 87,000-seater stadium was deemed by club and independent field inspectors to be unsuitable and unsafe to host the International Series game. The fixture will now be hosted at the Los Angeles Rams’ home stadium, the LA Memorial Coliseum in California.
“We have worked extensively with our partners at Estadio Azteca for months in preparation for this game,” said Mark Waller, NFL executive vice president of international. “Until very recently, we had no major concerns. But, the combination of a difficult rainy season and a heavy multi-event calendar of events at the stadium, has resulted in significant damage to the field that presents unnecessary risks to player safety and makes it unsuitable to host an NFL game.
“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.”
As part of the international series stipulations, all NFL teams that forgo a home game to play abroad are required to keep their home stadium vacant in case of a contingency.
