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Sean McVay Had Surprising Request for Rams' Locker Room at Cardinals' Stadium

Los Angeles will act as the home team Monday night in Arizona.

Tom Dierberger

Sean McVay and the Rams will be the home team at State Farm Stadium on Monday night.
Sean McVay and the Rams will be the home team at State Farm Stadium on Monday night. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Rams are calling the Arizona desert home this weekend, as their wild-card round clash against the Minnesota Vikings was moved to State Farm Stadium due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Although the Cardinals' home stadium will be painted in Rams blue and gold on Monday night, Los Angeles coach Sean McVay asked Arizona if his team could keep a bit of familiarity on game day.

According to NFL Network's Bridget Condon, the Cardinals obliged McVay's request. The Rams will use the visiting locker room on Monday, and the Vikings will use the auxiliary locker room.

The Cardinals are going the extra mile this weekend to play hosts to their NFC West rival. They sent two planes to Los Angeles on Friday to bring about 300 people—family, friends and a few pets belonging to Rams players—to the Phoenix area for the game. Arizona also used about 1,500 gallons of paint to repaint the field at State Farm Stadium to make it look exactly like the Rams' home field at State Farm Stadium.

McVay and the Rams weren't victorious in their first trip to State Farm Stadium this year, falling 41–10 to the Cardinals in Week 2. But they were one of two teams to beat the Vikings in 2024, handing them a 30–20 loss on Thursday Night Football in Week 8.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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