NFL Denied Rams and Chiefs’ Request to Play In Denver Prior to Game In Mexico City
Written by SOURCE on November 12, 2018
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the NFL denied separate requests made by the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs to play in Denver the week before their game in Mexico City on Monday, November 19, to become better acclimated with the higher altitude. With the Broncos on a bye this weekend, their stadium was technically available, but the league turned down both appeals stating that they didn’t want to provide either team with an advantage.
Broncos Stadium at Mile High sits at an elevation of 5,280 feet, which still doesn’t compare to what the players would be in for at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City where the elevation above sea level is roughly 7,300 feet.
The Rams plan on holding practice at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs this upcoming week before heading to Mexico City. The week-long trip away from their normal confines will give the team a much-needed break from the tragic string of events earlier this week that struck too close to home. Late Wednesday night, 12 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. The bar is located four miles away from the team’s practice facility at Cal Lutheran University.
Shortly after that, the Rams were forced to evacuate at least 100 of their employees when a wildfire spread just outside Thousand Oaks in Sierra Nevada where a number of the team’s coaches and employees reside. None of their employees’ homes appeared to be significantly harmed.
