U.S. Bank Stadium to Host Bucs-Chiefs if Hurricane Ian Forces Game out of Tampa

No decision has been made yet, but Sunday Night Football could be moved to Minneapolis.

If Sunday night's Buccaneers-Chiefs game needs to be moved out of Tampa because of Hurricane Ian, it would be held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the NFL has confirmed.

No decision has been made yet, nor is there an exact timetable for a decision, although it seems likely the call would be made one way or another by Friday.

Update: the game will not be played in Minneapolis. It'll take place in Tampa as originally scheduled.

"It's literally a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour consideration and conversation with all of the affected parties, state and local authorities, disaster relief agencies and the participating clubs, as well as the Vikings," said Jeff Miller, the NFL's senior VP of health and safety policy.

Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Florida on Wednesday. It's unclear if it will directly hit Tampa, but even if it doesn't, the game could still be moved. The NFL doesn't want to "negatively impact public safety efforts in the affected areas," Miller said.

U.S. Bank Stadium is available because the Vikings are playing the Saints in London this weekend. It's an indoor, neutral site that has hosted various non-Vikings events in the past, including Super Bowl LII.

Sunday night's game between the Buccaneers and Chiefs is a rematch of Super Bowl LV, featuring star quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. It will be broadcast nationally on NBC.

It'll be interesting to see how everything plays out if the game does get moved to Minneapolis. U.S. Bank Stadium and the NFL undoubtedly have a plan to get the game staffed and make sure everything runs smoothly. How ticketing would work is a big question. Last year, the Saints' Week 1 game against the Packers was moved to Jacksonville because of Hurricane Ida, so this isn't a new concept.

We'll see if this ends up happening. Of course, the primary concern is with all of the people in Florida and other areas who will be affected by this dangerous storm.

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