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NFL EVP Peter O’Reilly is confident in the playing surface for Super Bowl 58 following last year’s questionable field conditions, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed.
O’Reilly detailed the process for getting the field ready for the Feb. 11 game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
“We have brought in — as we do each year — a brand new natural grass surface that is currently installed in the field tray outside Allegiant Stadium,” O’Reilly said Thursday. “So, that has been in for a little bit now and is working through all of our standard testing procedures that will take place over the time from installation all the way up through that Saturday right before the game. Those adjustments and a core maintenance program are in place so we have an optimal field on game day. We have a great team maintaining it as we head up to the Super Bowl.”
Last year’s game in Glendale, Arizona, saw subpar field conditions as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, with both teams clearly affected by the field. It also took on damage from the halftime show, making things worse in the second half.
O’Reilly, the grounds crew and both teams involved in this year’s game are hoping for a better setup.
After last year’s conditions, the pressure will be on for the NFL to step things up this year. The rigorous preparation process for the field is nothing new, though. Last year’s grass took 18 months of preparation only for it to fold under the pressure of the biggest event of the NFL season.
This year’s grass was brought in from California and is a hybrid Bermuda variety per the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Mick Akers. While last year’s grass was also a Bermuda variety, this year’s will be a brand new grass, as O’Reilly noted.
The grass, which sits on a field tray outside of the domed-Allegiant Stadium, has already been moved to Las Vegas and will be maintained there in the weeks ahead. The field tray, which was also used at State Farm Stadium last year, allows the grass to move in and out of the stadium as needed.
Mick Akers @mickakers
The NFL laid a new natural grass field on Allegiant Stadium’s field tray. Will sit outside for the next couple of weeks, then during Super Bowl week it will be moved in/out of the stadium as needed for rehearsals and such, before Super Bowl Sunday Feb. 11. #vegas #nfl #superbowl pic.twitter.com/hPX1FgX6on
As the NFL continues to prepare the grass, the teams that will play on it will be decided this weekend. The NFC Championship between, the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers, and the AFC Championship, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, will take place on Sunday.
The four teams will battle it out for a chance to play on a hopefully-better field than last year’s.
