LA Rams And Chargers Schedules Are Released But They Come With Uncertainty

Los Angeles’ two NFL teams know when their inaugural seasons at SoFi Stadium will commence. The 2020 schedules were announced by the league on Thursday but in L.A., they arrive with clouds on the horizon.

The Rams face the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 13, a Sunday night affair which will be the regular-season opener in the $5 billion venue constructed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

The Chargers, a tenant of the Rams, make their home debut on Sept. 20 against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. They start on the road the previous week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

However when the Rams and Chargers play in Inglewood, Calif., Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t confident that their efforts will be witnessed by fans due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

“It’s difficult for me to imagine a stadium that’s filled until we have immunity, we have a vaccine,’’ Newsom said in his media briefing.

“What (does) the league, broadly, leagues, do when one or two of their key personnel or players are tested positive? Do they quarantine the rest of the team if an offensive lineman is practicing with a defensive lineman, and they are tested positive?’’

The virus which has halted sports around the world has compromised the league’s milestone entrance in L.A.

While the Rams have played at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum since 2016 and the Chargers in nearby Carson starting one year later, this season promised to provide the flash and pizzaz that the NFL craved since the Rams and Raiders exited the region following the 1994 season.

But this season’s grand-opening buzz has seized a backseat to the realization that whatever home games look like at SoFi Stadium, they’ll likely be as no one predicted.

The contests could be played with a limited amount of spectators. Or maybe the games go on and they’re minus any fans.

What’s clear is that the situation is fluid and possessing an uncertainly in a product isn’t good when peddling it.

While Rams and Chargers season-seat and single-game tickets are available, what confidence does the consumer have that the games will be played?

The teams announced that tickets bought through the clubs or their TicketMaster link will be refunded within 30 days if a game is cancelled or played without spectators.

The Rams, after going 9-7 in their Super Bowl season encore, are eager to return to the playoffs after missing them for the first time in coach Sean McVay’s three-year tenure.

In addition to their opener, the Rams will play in four other prime-time games: Oct. 18 at San Francisco 49ers; Oct. 26 versus Chicago Bears; Nov. 23 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers; and Dec. 10 against the New England Patriots.

The Chargers seek to rebound from a 5-11 season as they christen an era after quarterback Justin Herbert was drafted to replace (eventually) Philip Rivers.

Their schedule which features five games against 2019 playoff teams is highlighted by two prime-time dates versus the visiting New Orleans Saints on Oct. 12 and at the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 17.