As Virus Upends N.F.L. Schedule, Games Shift to Odd Landing Spots

The Baltimore postponement was the second scheduling convulsion announced Monday, after the San Francisco 49ers said in a statement that the team will play its next two home games in State Farm Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals. The relocation came after health officials in Santa Clara County, Calif., where the team’s stadium is, banned contact sports at all levels through late December in a bid to slow the surge in coronavirus infections there.

The team will play its games in Week 13 and 14 in the Cardinals’ Glendale, Ariz., facility, which was able to accommodate the move because the teams’ schedules do not conflict. The 49ers will play against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 7 and will face the Washington Football Team on Dec. 13, but the club still had not determined where they will practice and live during that time.

“Very appreciative of Arizona welcoming us during these unprecedented times,” 49ers team owner Jed York wrote on Twitter, thanking the Cardinals team owner Michael Bidwill.

While local and state guidelines for controlling the spread of the virus have prevented spectators from attending some N.F.L. games in other markets this season, this is the first time local health protocols have prevented a team from playing games or practicing in its home market. This summer, health officials in Santa Clara were among the first to ban fans at N.F.L. games and passed an ordinance requiring players and coaches to wear masks at all times, months before the league took the same step last week.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/sports/football/san-francisco-49ers-arizona-stadium.html