Last year, in Super Bowl 57, the grass surface became far greater of a topic than anyone ever wanted it to be. As the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles battled it out for NFL supremacy, many, including the players in the game, were pointing out the fact that the playing surface was slippery and tough to manage throughout the night.
A year later and with another Super Bowl on the horizon, Allegiant Stadium — the home of Super Bowl 58 — is determined to make sure that the playing field is not once again a topic of discussion for the league.
With measures taken throughout the year, as well as the handling of the surface this week leading up to the game, Las Vegas intends to get it right this time.
Allegiant Stadium Prepping Super Bowl Grass Surface
Super Bowl 58 will be played on grass, and if you ask the players, that’s a big deal. Even though Allegiant Stadium is a dome, it still has a grass field that is on a track with wheels, so it can be moved in and out of the stadium to get sunlight to grow and maintain properly.
The NFL grows the grass for the Super Bowl years in advance, using a hybrid grass that grows over two years.
This year’s grass field was put in place on Allegiant Stadium’s track ahead of the AFC and NFC Championship games and will be rolled in and out of the arena to get extra sunlight ahead of Super Bowl 58 to ensure it is in pristine condition.
According to the stadium’s website and Nick Pappas, an NFL field surface director, the grass is on a “single 40-inch deep tray measuring 234 feet wide and 403 feet long. Rolling on 546 steel wheels which rest on 13 railroad-like tracks, the field travels the 740 feet inside or out of the stadium in approximately 70 minutes at the push of a button.”
“Those adjustments and a core maintenance program are in place so we’ll have an optimal field on game day,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said ahead of championship Sunday. “That natural grass surface, brand new, is installed right now, and a great team maintaining it as we head up to the Super Bowl.”
“We’re doing a lot of testing, getting a lot of data, and making data-based decisions on how we’re managing the field.”
MORE: Who Is the Home Team in Super Bowl 58?
It seems as if the NFL has learned from the mistakes made in Arizona last year and is determined to make a change this year to ensure the playing field is exactly what is needed for the big game.
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