The NFL said Tuesday it will move next season’s opening game – featuring the Super Bowl champion New York Giants – to avoid a conflict with the Democratic National Convention’s big night.
The game was set for Thursday, Sept. 6 – when President Barack Obama is scheduled to accept the Democratic nomination at Bank of America Stadium. In a statement, the league said the game will be moved to Wednesday night, Sept. 5.
A Democratic official stressed that neither the convention nor the Obama campaign requested the change.
In 2008, the NFL schedule bumped up against another convention, when Republican John McCain accepted his party’s nomination on the same night as the season opener. In that case, the NFL moved the kickoff up 90 minutes to accommodate McCain’s speech.
On Tuesday, a Democratic official said it was the party’s preference that the precedent be continued. The official said programming decisions have not been made for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, so it’s uncertain how the NFL’s decision would impact convention programming.
The NFL’s switch means the opener could conflict with another speech.
If tradition holds, Vice President Joe Biden will accept his nomination on Wednesday night.
