Last year's field was slick, and the 49ers feel their practice field is subpar. What does that mean for Sunday at Allegiant Stadium?
Stephen A. Smith and Marcus Spears discuss the pressure on Brock Purdy to prove himself against Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LVIII. Josh Weinfuss is a staff writer who covers the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL at ESPN. Josh has covered the Cardinals since 2012, joining ESPN in 2013. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and a graduate of Indiana University. You can follow him via Twitter @joshweinfuss.
The field system at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas was modeled after the one at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. Allegiant Stadium also has a grass field that sits on a tray that's rolled in for games and rolled out for maintenance, watering and sun. How the field will hold up Sunday at Allegiant Stadium is a major question. And rightfully so. It's similar to last year's field.
"We wanted to keep it outside as long as possible," Pappas said, acknowledging that last year's field was brought in on Wednesday of Super Bowl week.One key difference between the Arizona and Las Vegas systems is the Allegiant Stadium tray is equipped with heating coils. Grass in the desert goes dormant in the winter months, making it look like hay, a groundskeeping source told ESPN.
It was developed to withstand cold, drought, disease and wear and recover well from traffic -- all reasons Mangan chose it. The Chiefs and Eagles both have Tahoma 31 in their stadiums, as do the Rose Bowl, Los Angeles Coliseum, Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium and Soldier Field, among others.About five days before the game, the field at State Farm Stadium was rolled in,"which is way longer than it was supposed to be in there," according to a source familiar with the process.
Once rye grass gets wet, it can become exceedingly slippery, said Dr. Yanqi Wu, who created Tahoma 31. Wu was not part of the NFL's field process a year ago, and all of his observations have come from afar. Low air moisture would have helped dry out the rye grass, said Wu, who added that that becomes difficult indoors when air flow and sunlight are low but humidity tends to be higher.
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