Kickoff to Titans-Texans Game Delayed

NASHVILLE – Kickoff for Saturday’s game between the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans at Nissan Stadium has been delayed for one hour.

In a morning tweet, Nashville Mayor John Cooper requested that the NFL contest be postponed because of energy issues related to winter weather that moved through the area Thursday night. The Tennessee Valley Authority plans a second day of rolling blackouts across the area that last 10-15 minutes to help with the strain on the grid.

Kickoff is officially set for 1:02 p.m. (CST).

“Due to the extreme weather and power outages affecting our region, kickoff for today’s game has been postponed one hour to 1 p.m. CT. This decision was made in partnership with the NFL, Office of Emergency Management, Nashville Electric Service and the Mayor’s Office in an abundance of caution to ensure that the game would not negatively impact our community in any way,” the Titans said in a statement. “We are exploring every possibility to minimize non-essential power around the stadium. Gates are currently open and fans are welcome to enter.

“At all times, the operation of the game remained secondary to the well-being of our community and we can’t thank the OEM and NES enough for their dedication to the safety of our neighbors.”

The decision was announced a little less than 90 minutes ahead of the originally scheduled noon start.

“I’ve been informed that TVA’s unilateral rolling blackouts will continue,” Mayor Cooper wrote. “All non-essential businesses should reduce power usage. I’ve asked the Titans to postpone their (noon) game in solidarity with our neighbors.:

The temperature at the time of the announcement was 14 degrees. The high for the day is expected to be in the low 20s, which would make it the coldest home game in franchise history.

The current record for the coldest home game is 23 degrees, on Dec. 31, 2017 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The benefits of the delay include time for the temperature to rise, which would reduce overall strain in the grid. TVA engineers told Titans officials that they expect to complete the rolling blackouts by the new kickoff time.