The NFL has moved the Steelers-Chiefs divisional playoff game from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night as an ice storm approaches Kansas City, Mo.
"Due to public safety concerns in light of the forecasted storm this weekend in the Kansas City area, Sunday’s Steelers-Chiefs Divisional Playoff game on NBC has been moved to 8:20 p.m. ET," read a statement sent by the league Friday afternoon.
"Moving the game from the original 1:05 p.m. ET start time will provide local authorities more time to clear roads in the area as the weather is expected to improve throughout Sunday.
"The decision to make this time change was made in consultation with state and local officials as well as the Chiefs and the Steelers."
On Friday morning, The National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning which forecasts the possibility freezing rain that could last through Sunday afternoon. The storm may lead to as much as an inch of ice accumulation that would make travel “dangerous or impossible.”
City of Kansas City spokesperson Chris Hernandez said this week local officials “are confident we can handle the storm.”
Ticket prices have dropped below $30 on the secondary market. StubHub had more than 7,000 tickets for sale as of Friday. The weather seems to be making fans leery. The cheapest seats for the game went for $134 on Sunday on ticket tracking and resale site SeatGeek but could be had for as little as $27 on Friday.
In October, there was a chance that Hurricane Matthew would impact NFL contests in Miami and Carolina. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey, whose team played the Dolphins on Oct. 9, told reporters that the the league NFL considered moving that contest to Nashville.
Both the Titans-Dolphins game and Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Carolina Panthers game (Oct. 10) were played as scheduled.
The NFL did move a preseason game in Tampa in August up a day to avoid an approaching tropical depression.
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