NFL Weighs Super Bowl Alternatives As COVID Surges In LA

INGLEWOOD, CA — Following reports that the NFL had reached out to stadium officials in Texas about availability to host the Super Bowl next month, both state health and NFL officials said the big game is still on for SoFi Stadium. As of Wednesday, plans are in place to play the game at SoFi with mitigation measures to address the surge in coronavirus cases in Los Angeles and throughout the nation.

"The Super Bowl is coming to L.A. I think Californians are excited to see that event occur. The work is to make sure that as it is moving forward ... that mitigation strategies that create safety around that event are in place, and (I'm) looking forward to a number of folks working to make sure that is there," State Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said.

Ghaly did not outline what mitigation measures would be in place. Both he and Gov. Gavin Newsom have said repeatedly that there aren't plans to institute the kind of lockdowns that California saw in 2020 and 2021 when fan attendance at professional sporting events were banned.

Ghaly told reporters the state and Los Angeles County are both in touch with the NFL as part of the planning process to ensure steps are taken to prevent rapid virus spread associated with the Feb. 13 game.

"The Super Bowl represents people coming not just from California, Los Angeles, but from far and wide to multiple events," Ghaly said. "And we are working -- I know L.A. County is closely in contact with the NFL to make sure that strategies are put in place to ensure that people can enjoy this important event, while making sure that we put things in place that allow COVID mitigation to be a important feature of the approach to that game that is just over a month away."

NFL officials on Wednesday sought to dispel rumors that the Super Bowl could be moved at the last minute due to the COVID precautions in California.

Questions about the fate of the Super Bowl have arisen in recent weeks with the rapid increase in COVID-19 infections -- driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. Earlier Wednesday, the Grammy Awards announced a postponement of its Jan. 31 ceremony. The Critics Choice Awards were previously postponed and both USC and UCLA have announced restricted attendance at indoor sporting events.

WFAA-TV in Arlington, Texas, reported Wednesday that the NFL had reached out to officials at AT&T Stadium -- home of the Dallas Cowboys -- about the venue's availability as a possible alternate Super Bowl location.

In a statement to media outlets, an NFL spokesman insisted that such inquiries are done every year as a contingency in case a last-minute need arises to relocate the Super Bowl.

"We plan on playing Super Bowl LVI as scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 13," Brian McCarthy said in the statement. "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. 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."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.