The NFL hasn't yet released the complete 2020 regular season schedule, but there are already tea leaves being read when it comes to who'll play where and when. It's now known the Arizona Cardinals will host a visiting team as the home club in Mexico, but primetime openers are still very much up for grabs, and the Kansas City Chiefs are a logical choice to land in one of those spots. They are the defending Super Bowl champions, after all, and droves of NFL fans will clamor to see them and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes take the field to open the season.
While nothing's yet official, the Kansas City Royals are basically hinting at the strong possibility the Chiefs will get the nod as one of the two teams to play in the Thursday night opener in 2020 -- already making a change to their MLB schedule to accommodate for the possibility/likelihood. They were initially set to take on the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, Sept. 10, but not anymore.
The dates for the series have been pulled forward a bit.
"Today, the Royals announce a schedule change during the series against the Oakland Athletics this September in order to accommodate the Kansas City Chiefs potentially opening at home at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, September 10," the Royals said in their official statement. "The Oakland series, previously scheduled for September 7-10, will now conclude on September 9."
The Royals also noted their season ticket holders will be able to exchange tickets, as necessary, beginning in late March.
Both teams having a game on Thursday would've been less than ideal, considering the stadiums are located next to each other, which sets the stage for massive parking issues, at minimum. With the Royals decision being made, the NFL is free to award the Thursday night game to the Chiefs -- knowing they can avoid what happened in 2013 when the defending champion Baltimore Ravens had to open the season on the road thanks to the Baltimore Orioles having a game scheduled the same day.
The league will release the 2020 regular-season schedule in April, but it seems a foregone conclusion we'll all see the Chiefs on Sept. 10.
