By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The National Football League on Wednesday said it has no plans to move next month’s Super Bowl from Los Angeles due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, and said its discussions with alternative sites is part of normal contingency planning.
The Feb. 13 championship game at SoFi Stadium comes as officials have been weighing whether to cap attendance at large events to stem the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.
Los Angeles County has in the past instituted some of the strictest public health policies in the nation to combat the pandemic. Last January, this prompted college football’s Rose Bowl to be moved from Pasadena to Arlington, Texas, although this year’s Rose Bowl was in Pasadena as usual.
“We plan on playing Super Bowl LVI as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 13,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Reuters.
“As part of our standard contingency planning process that we conduct for all regular and postseason games, we have contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event we cannot play the Super Bowl as scheduled due to weather-related issues or unforeseen circumstances,” he said.
“Our planning process for the Super Bowl in Los Angeles is ahead of schedule and we look forward to hosting the Super Bowl there to culminate another fantastic NFL season for our fans and clubs.”
McCarthy noted that Sunday will mark the 20th game at the stadium this season with no attendance limits.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio)
