KC Chiefs-Bucs game would indeed be played in Minneapolis if necessary, per NFL report

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida Wednesday afternoon, affecting most of the state’s Gulf Coast region.

The storm, which came ashore shortly after 2 p.m. Central Time as a Category 4 hurricane, could keep the site of Sunday night’s Chiefs-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game in limbo until Friday, per an NFL report.

Should the storm packing 150-plus mph winds at the time of landfall force a change of venue from Raymond James Stadium, the game will be played in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium, the NFL Network reported. This alternate plan would not affect the Vikings, who face the New Orleans Saints in London this weekend.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday he anticipated knowing more soon about where the Chiefs would play Sunday evening.

“I think in the next couple of days, we’ll probably have a pretty good idea,” Reid said. “We don’t know. I know they’re talking. I think in the next couple of days, we’ll (know).”

The NFL said Wednesday that there were no changes to the game’s date and time, and that the league has a contingency plan in place.

For the Chiefs, playing in Minnesota would change the setting from an outdoor stadium to a dome. But Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said playing indoors wouldn’t have much of an effect on his preparations.

“You have to go out there and execute the game plan,” he said. “I mean, obviously, weather would be one thing that you could kind of think about and stuff like that.

“But it looks like if we are in Tampa, it’s going to be sunny anyway. It would just be us going out there and playing the game regardless of if we’re indoors or out.”

The Buccaneers on Tuesday left the Tampa area to practice in Miami ahead of Sunday’s game. The Chiefs continued to practice in Kansas City.

“We’re not sure where we’re going to play, but wherever we need to go, we’ll go,” Reid said. “We’ll get ourselves ready for that. When the league announces it, then we’ll go ahead and move forward in that direction.”

The National Hurricane Center issued public advisories for the Florida Gulf Coast region, warning of “catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding in the Florida peninsula.” The projections have placed the greater Tampa area under a storm-surge warning.

The Chiefs coach and star quarterback extended their best wishes to Floridians currently in harm’s way.

“My heart and prayers go out to the people there,” Reid said.

“I want to send thoughts and prayers to everybody in the Florida area,” Mahomes said. “Hopefully they got out of there. And if not, they’re hunkered down and safe.”