Super Bowl week got off to a tough start as San Francisco 49ers staff announced that the use of their practice facility at UNLV in Las Vegas was unacceptable.
The San Francisco staff was so upset about UNLV’s turf that they asked if there was a way to let the 49ers and Chiefs use the field at the Las Vegas Raiders’ training center. new york post I say it’s unlikely.
In preparation for the 49ers, UNLV added a sheet of natural grass on top of the AstroTurf field. But while negotiations between the NFL and the players’ union ostensibly passed, San Francisco is not satisfied.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches from the sideline during the first half against the Green Bay Packers during the NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. . (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Apparently the 49ers staff doesn’t feel the surface is hard enough for them.
The complaint appears to be an unfortunate echo of major turf issues at Phoenix’s State Farm Stadium last year, when players from both the Chiefs and Eagles complained that the field was in poor condition.
Several players were witnessed slipping on the field during Super Bowl LVII, the most obvious example being Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, who barely made a kick before his left foot landed on the grass. It slipped and crashed into the ground.
This field is no good. Jake Elliott slipped on his foot on the kickoff. pic.twitter.com/6Xhf54oteR
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) February 13, 2023
Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, for example, blasted the field, saying, “It was like a water park. We’re playing on the grass.”
The grounds for last year’s big games were so bad that George Thoma, the league’s “adopted father”, threatened to resign from his role as playing surface advisor, feeling his advice had been ignored.
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