NFL owners vote to relocate 2021 Super Bowl to Tampa due to stadium construction delay

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (FOX 11/ CNS) - A one-year delay in construction of the $2.6 billion stadium that will house the Rams and Chargers in Inglewood led to an equivalent delay in the Super Bowl coming to the Southland.

The NFL had previously awarded the 2021 Super Bowl to the Inglewood stadium, but construction crews announced last week that unusually heavy winter rainfall will delay the venue's opening from 2019 until 2020.

The NFL has a policy requiring a stadium to be open for at least two seasons before it can host a Super Bowl. The league's owners could have approved a waiver of the requirement, but they voted Tuesday to award Inglewood the 2022 Super Bowl instead. The 2021 Super Bowl will now be played in Tampa Bay.

Next year's Super Bowl will be played in Minneapolis, followed by Atlanta in 2019 and Miami in 2020.

"In the past week, we have worked with the NFL on the resolution that was presented today (Tuesday) and are supportive of the NFL owners' decision to play Super Bowl LV in Tampa and to have Los Angeles host Super Bowl LVI in 2022,'' Rams COO Kevin Demoff said. "Over the next 90 days, we will continue to work with our partners across the Los Angeles region, including the Chargers, to deliver the elements promised in the bid that was approved last year.''

The 70,000-seat Inglewood stadium is expected to be the centerpiece of an entertainment and commercial center spanning roughly 300 acres at the site of the former Hollywood Park racetrack. The district is envisioned to include a roughly 6,000-seat arena, more than 1.5 million square feet of retail and office space, 2,500 residential units and possibly a 300-room hotel, along with 25 acres of parks and open space.

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