Is Super Bowl 58 being played on grass or turf? How Allegiant Stadium plans to avoid slippery field from 2023
The Super Bowl is one of the biggest spectacles in sports and as such, most fans expect the field to be given exceptional care. However, the field from last year's Big Game was criticized and this needed some reworking this season. So, what type of grass will be used in Super Bowl 58 and why were changes needed from last year?
Most players strongly prefer natural grass and dirt over pellets and turf. This year, most players will be happy to know that the biggest game of their lives will be played on natural grass. However, considering Allegiant Stadium is a dome, this raises questions about how the field is grown with natural sunlight.
The answer is a massive operation. The league rolls in and out the natural grass on wheels in an operation that looks like the field is slid in and out of the stadium.
The NFL posted a clip of the operation in action. The clip was time-lapsed, indicating that moving the field is not a fast endeavor.
Why was the grass slippery for Super Bowl 2023?
The Super Bowl at the end of the 2023 season was the most important game on the NFL calendar, but the implementation of the field left fans scratching their heads. The surface was an experimental hybrid grass featuring some natural and some artificial building blocks to its surface.
According to Sporting News, players were unhappy with the state of the field. Eagles linebacker Haasan Reddick called the surface "the worst I ever played on." He said he wouldn't skip the game over the complaint, but blamed the field for missing tackles in the loss to the Chiefs.
"A couple times, I had a good pass rush, felt like I beat my man, tried to turn the corner and couldn’t turn the corner. I’m not making excuses, but if you watch the film, you’re going to see what I said. At the end of the day, they still won, so credit to them."
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Eagles by a score of 38-35. Patrick Mahomes started somewhat slow but launched into a fourth-quarter phenom, helping the team score 17 points after scoring 21 points in the first three quarters.
The Eagles had a 24-14 lead going into the second half and while they didn't hit a massive wall offensively, Jalen Hurts slowed down. The Eagles scored 24 points in the first half and 11 points in the second half.