Well, it appears a stadium with a roof can still experience a weather delay.
The Monday night game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium was delayed due to weather and kickoff time came 35 minutes following the originally scheduled 8:15 p.m. PT start.
The Chargers went on to beat the Raiders, 28-14, but Las Vegas coach Jon Gruden said the delay had no bearing on the finish.
"It didn't, it didn't have anything to do with it," Gruden told reporters.
Though SoFi Stadium has a translucent roof, there are openings in the upper deck that allow the breeze into the stadium, and with lightning strikes in the area, league officials exercised caution.
"No, I'm not an engineer, I have no idea. I have never heard that. I thought it was a joke," Gruden said of a weather delay in an indoor stadium. "But it affected both teams."
SoFi Stadium is in its second year of operation, and because Los Angeles rarely experiences inclement weather, it was undoubtedly a first in the facility's young history. With nothing to do but wait until kickoff, we can acknowledge it's oddly appropriate that the team nicknamed the Bolts had a primetime game delayed by lightning. That's certainly worth a Gruden scowl.
"I've never had an indoor stadium with a lightning delay," Gruden said. "This was a bizarre night for all of us."
