If there may be one facet of sports activities which the NFL ought to have an unquestioned experience, it must be within the upkeep of its taking part in surfaces. If the NBA and NHL can share stadiums and puzzle piece courts collectively over ice, then the NFL ought to have the ability to have the grass in pristine situation on the Tremendous Bowl host metropolis. For a second-consecutive season, there’s a extremely publicized turf downside. The San Francisco 49ers are, reportedly, not proud of their observe area.
A number of NFL insiders reported on Monday that the sector at UNLV was lower than the requirements the 49ers anticipated. Even earlier than the gamers stepped onto the sector, group officers have been displeased with the floor. They believed that it was too mushy, it felt spongy, and put the group at an obstacle. A doable reason for this could be that UNLV practices on area turf, so the NFL needed to lay a grass floor on prime, which the league did solely per week in the past.
At Tremendous Bowl Opening Night time, the gamers deferred questions in regards to the high quality of the observe area to go coach Kyle Shanahan. His response was that the group just isn’t altering observe location and is resigned to what they must work with for the remainder of the week.
“It’s what it’s,” Shanahan mentioned to the media. “We’ll be alright. It’s the sector we received.”
Throughout his Monday press convention, Roger Goodell defended the situation of the sector. He mentioned that, whereas the floor is softer than the 49ers are accustomed to, it was authorized by consultants.
Final season, the Tremendous Bowl floor problem was the sport area at State Farm Stadium. Gamers from each the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles have been important of it after the sport when chatting with the media. Frank Clark mentioned that it was “sort of horrible.” Jordan Mailata mentioned “it was like a water park on the market.”
A league that’s pulling in almost $20 billion in income each season, and sells Tremendous Bowl tickets for 1000’s of {dollars}, is battling the fundamentals. It’s dangerous sufficient that MetLife Stadium swallows achilles and ACLs entire, however that’s a synthetic floor. As a lot debate as there may be surrounding area turf, the NFL can not even get pure grass proper. There have been complaints in regards to the grass at Levi Stadium for Tremendous Bowl 50, too.
The person who labored on each Tremendous Bowl area from the primary to the 57th, George Toma, spoke final 12 months about how he has been compelled to cope with extra area issues lately than prior to now. He was not about to take the blame for what occurred in Glendale, Ariz. Each of his Dan Le Batard Present with Stugotz interviews will sound foolish to those that aren’t acquainted with the present, however Toma made a powerful case that the league has an institutional downside with the way in which that it maintains its taking part in surfaces. Based on a Kansas Metropolis Star profile from 2018, Toma is a genius with regards to caring for fields, so whereas he rambles a bit, he does know what he’s speaking about.
Within the phrases of Johnny Tapia in Dangerous Boys II, “It is a silly f-cking downside to have.” Stadiums are constructed within the NFL with 200 luxurious suites and world-class facilities, however the precise taking part in surfaces depart a lot to be desired.
The NFL has a lot cash that it would as properly be the Federal Reserve. The {dollars} fly into the group homeowners’ pockets from prospects, networks, sponsors, and extra. It’s the most profitable product within the historical past of tv. One would suppose {that a} enterprise of this magnitude would possibly have the ability to do the job of a park district and preserve its fields in fine condition. I assume that’s too large of an issue even for the large brains within the proprietor’s bins and on Park Avenue. Good luck to them as they attempt to roll grass on MetLife Stadium and different amenities for the World Cup in two years.