The brand new billion dollar Levi Stadium is still having major issues with its playing surface.
The new field was ripped up last week after the 49er’s preseason game against the Broncos after players complained about tripping over divots and other discrepancies that had those playing facing possible injury. Everyone thought the problem was solved after a new surface was laid before this past Sunday’s Chargers preseason game, however it appears that was just a temporary bandaid.
On Thursday, the team and its sod supplier, West Coast Turf, took out the entire 100-yard field, and had the new, temporary playing surface installed by Friday. A high-school double-header scheduled for this Friday was canceled, with a new line-up of games scheduled for October.
The field largely held up Sunday, but some players griped about its condition.
“It wasn’t great. It wasn’t good at all,” veteran Chargers linebacker Dwight Freeney said after the game, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Team representatives and consultants will spend the next few days deciding whether to stick with the Bandera Bermuda sod, a relatively new strain used only in California, or switch to a Tifway grass variety used by more NFL teams.
“We’ll have a couple of weeks now where they can figure out exactly what they want to do, and I expect it to be even better when we come back for Chicago,” kicker Phil Dawson said Sunday.
The Niners plan to install the newest field this weekend and plan to use a type of grass that is more commonly used amongst other NFL stadiums. They have a little bit of time to try the re-do part deux. The next game to be played at Levi is a soccer match Sept. 6 between Chile and Mexico. The Niners play their season opener against the Bears on Sept. 14.
It’s unknown how much this new NEW field will cost. However the original budget was $1.4 million, if that tells you anything.
Related: 2014 Fantasy Football Guy’d
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
