It's official: Bucs, Chiefs game will be played in Tampa, not Minneapolis
UPDATE: The game will stay in Tampa
The Bucs confirmed Thursday that Sunday's game against the Chiefs will be played in Tampa. Minneapolis was the contingency plan had Hurricane Ian forced a move. A full statement from the Bucs:
Our thoughts and prayers remain with the many thousands in the Southwest Florida region who have been severely impacted by Hurricane Ian. We are also very thankful that the Tampa Bay area was spared the most damaging consequences of this powerful storm. We have informed the NFL, after consulting with local and state agencies, that we are ready to play Sunday night's game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium as originally scheduled.
We would like to thank all of the local government agencies and the thousands of emergency personnel who worked tirelessly over the past few days to ensure that our area would be ready to respond if needed. We would also like to acknowledge the Miami Dolphins organization for their assistance and hospitality in allowing us to use their practice facilities this week.
We also want to express our sincere appreciation to the first responders and emergency personnel who are already battling the elements, saving lives, and helping our neighbors in those most impacted areas to our south.
We will have additional information soon on ways we can join together to support our community and those most impacted by the storm.
This is a breaking news update. Read the original story below.
The Tampa Bay Sports Authority has let the NFL know that it has all the necessary resources to host the Sunday night game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium, according to Bucs longtime reporter Rick Stroud.
Stroud says "It's up to the league now to make the final decision."
The Tampa Sports Authority informed the NFL Thursday they have all the resources in terms of emergency services, law enforcement, etc. to host Sunday night's game between the Bucs and Chiefs at RJS. It's up to the league now to make the final decision.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) September 29, 2022
The NFL confirmed Wednesday that if the game were to be moved due to Hurricane Ian, it would be played Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, which is vacant on Sunday because the Vikings are in London to play the Saints.
Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor tweeted Thursday that city officials are "doing our best to keep the [Buccaneers] game here Sunday."
On another note: we're doing our best to keep the @Buccaneers game here Sunday. I have assured the @NFL that the only disturbance here Sunday is when the Bucs kick ass. 😉 pic.twitter.com/Mwp4EXPUlK
— Jane Castor (@JaneCastor) September 29, 2022
Fears earlier this week were that Ian could bring devastating storm surge to Tampa Bay, but the storm tracked further south, instead causing catastrophic damage from south of Sarasota to Fort Myers and Naples. Tampa dodged the bullet by about 50 miles.
On Wednesday, the City of Minneapolis confirmed to Bring Me The Sports that "initial discussions" were held in the event that the game was moved to U.S. Bank Stadium.
Meanwhile, the scope of the damage in Florida from Hurricane Ian is coming to light Thursday. On "Good Morning America," Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said "I definitely know fatalities are in the hundreds," in addition to "thousands of people that are waiting to be rescued."
Related: Minneapolis confirms 'initial discussions' of hosting Bucs-Chiefs
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.