Los Angeles Rams-Kansas City Chiefs will be moved to LA (UPDATED)

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Los Angeles Rams’ Week 11 game against the Kansas City Chiefs is being moved out of Mexico City to LA due to the field conditions at the the Estadio Azteca:

And literally as I was writing this, the NFL released the following statement:

The NFL announced today that it will move the Monday, November 19, Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Rams game originally scheduled for Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

The decision is based on the determination – in consultation with the NFLPA and following a meeting and field inspection this afternoon by NFL and club field experts as well as local and independent outside experts – that the playing field at Estadio Azteca does not meet NFL standards for playability and consistency and will not meet those standards by next Monday.

”We have worked extensively with our partners at Estadio Azteca for months in preparation for this game,” said NFL Executive Vice President of International Mark Waller. ”Until very recently, we had no major concerns. But, the combination of a difficult rainy season and a heavy multi-event calendar of events at the stadium, have resulted in significant damage to the field that presents unnecessary risks to player safety and makes it unsuitable to host an NFL game. As a result, we have determined that moving the game is the right decision, and one that we needed to announce now in order to allow our teams and fans to make alternate arrangements.”

Details on ticket reimbursement procedures will be announced in the days ahead.

All NFL teams that forgo a home game to play internationally are required to keep their home stadium available as a contingency, and the Rams will be announcing ticket information and other logistical details for Monday night’s game at the LA Coliseum as soon as possible.

Tons to follow obviously, but it puts a major spotlight on LA in what is building to be one of the games of the year...

(UPDATED at 5:15pm ET)

Interesting note here from B/R’s Mike Freeman that would suggest it wasn’t necessarily the field conditions themselves but more player reactions to it that forced the NFL’s hand here:

(UPDATED at 5:38pm ET)

I think RB Just Todd Gurley is ok with the news:

(UPDATED at 5:44pm ET)

The Rams have released initial ticket purchasing information. Stay tuned.