NFL, Inglewood Mayor Say There Are No Plans To Move Super Bowl From SoFi Stadium
INGLEWOOD (CBSLA) — It's happening, insist local officials who are countering speculation that the long-awaited Super Bowl could be moved from SoFi Stadium due to the newest wave of COVID-19 infections in Southern California.
The big game will go on as planned on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium, despite the NFL's confirmation that it has been vetting potential alternative sites such as AT&T Stadium in Texas.
The NFL says the league always puts contingency plans in place just in case, but there are no plans to relocate this year's game – which is just over a month away at this time.
Why the sudden concern about where Super Bowl LVI will be played? It's thanks to the Omicron variant driving a new, massive surge of infections across the nation. Omicron was identified as a variant of concern at around Thanksgiving, and has sent California's positivity rate skyrocketing to nearly 22%.
"COVID is something that's affecting the entire United States of America, so why would you leave Inglewood to go to AT&T?" Inglewood Mayor James Butts said. "As much as I love Jerry Jones, it doesn't make any sense, does it?"
Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of the LA County Health Department, says they have been working closely with the NFL and SoFi Stadium and is confident the game will indeed happen as planned in Inglewood.
