The poor playing surface at the Bears’ home stadium, Soldier Field, has been documented well over the past few years. If the team has tried to do anything to fix it, it certainly has not worked.
That is a huge reason why the franchise wants to build their own stadium in Chicago suburb Arlington Heights, even though the mayor is trying desperately to keep them.
The grass at Soldier Field has long been a problem, with players complaining of issues keeping their footing. It was an issue once again ahead of the Bears-Chiefs preseason game.
NFL Players Association president JC Tretter noticed the condition of the sod, and he had something to say.
“The NFL said that this field met minimum testing standards. We clearly need to re-evaluate what is an acceptable surface for players to compete on. We need new testing metrics looking at the performance and safety of every field. The NFL can and should do better,” said Tretter.
Former Chiefs K Cairo Santos, who now kicks for the Bears, also expressed his displeasure over the turf conditions.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
“Especially Week 1, our first game of the season — I’ve seen better,” Santos said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s just what we have to deal with. The less of a problem you make it in your mind, it helps you overcome it and just go.”
Santos told reporters that the conditions of the turf are so consistently bad he actually sought out a similar playing surface in the offseason while he was training in Florida.
