While other sports games and events across Southern California have been canceled with the arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary on Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers are still playing their scheduled preseason game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
The game against the New Orleans Saints is set to kick off at 4:05 p.m. PT and would likely finish around 7 p.m., when the center of the storm is expected to reach the region with sustained wind speeds of around 50 miles per hour. The National Weather Service is predicting 2-4 inches of rain for the Los Angeles city area, with likely more in the mountains and in the Antelope Valley with a strong chance of flash flooding in those areas.
Southern California also experienced an earthquake not long before the game, as an earthquake in the 5.1 range rocked the area. It was centered in Ojai but was felt all around the Los Angeles area, according to the United States Geological Survey government agency. There was no tsunami warning in the area’s coastal cities.
As an indoor/outdoor venue, SoFi Stadium has a roof that prevents rain from falling directly on the field, but the stadium is not fully enclosed and is susceptible to rain and wind blowing through the concourse areas during storms.
That is what happened this past January when the stadium hosted the college football national championship game. With winter storms battering California with rain, the floor of the stadium’s concourse areas became wet, causing multiple attendees to slip and suffer injuries.
With flash flood warnings issued throughout the region and residents advised not to travel unless attempting to escape a flooding area, few if any Chargers fans are expected to show up for the game. Some fans called on the team to cancel the game on social media, with one half-joking that he didn’t want to see star quarterback Justin Herbert sent out to play in this weather.
“Not only do I not want him playing, I want his ass in a high-security storm shelter. Like something they would put the pope or president in,” the fan joked.
While that game is going forward, other local sports teams rescheduled their Sunday games. Major League Baseball’s Dodgers and Angels, as well as the San Diego Padres, held doubleheaders on Saturday to avoid playing on Sunday, while Los Angeles’ Major League Soccer teams, the Galaxy and LAFC, rescheduled their Sunday games.
And in Hollywood, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA canceled Monday’s scheduled picket lines for their ongoing strikes as a safety precaution. The worst part of the storm is expected to pass Los Angeles by early Monday morning, though potential storm damage may linger.
Some other events are also carrying on this Sunday. In downtown L.A., the K-Pop festival KCON is scheduled to continue at the L.A. Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena, while the Sunday performance of “Les Miserables” at the Pantages Theater is also continuing as planned.
