Getty Super Bowl LVIII signage is seen outside of Allegiant Stadium.
Allegiant Stadium is all dressed up and ready to go for the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers to take the field with the Vince Lombardi Trophy at stake in the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday, February 11 to put a capstone on the 2023 NFL season.
This will be the second time in five seasons that the Chiefs and 49ers are the final two teams standing, but the first time that the NFL has staged the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
As kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday approaches, ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez offered a first glimpse at what the field will look like.
The #SuperBowl field is in…#49ers #KCChiefs
Similarly to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home to both the Arizona Cardinals and the 2023 Super Bowl, Allegiant Stadium also boasts the technology to roll the natural grass field outside to grow before bringing it back into the stadium for the game.
The NFL’s official X account also shared a time-lapse of that process on February 8.
Moving the field in for #SBLVIII 🔥
NFL Hoping Super Bowl Field Doesn’t Play Starring Role
The NFL is hoping that the field growing process is where the similarities between Allegiant Stadium and State Farm Stadium end.
Last season, of course, several Philadelphia Eagles players adamantly complained about the playing surface in the 2023 Super Bowl against the Chiefs.
“It was definitely subpar for sure, but we have to deal with the situation and the circumstances,” Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata said after the game, via AZCentral.
Several players slipped and slid throughout the game in Arizona, to the point that the FOX broadcast even made a point of discussing whether the teams would change cleats to adjust to the playing conditions.
Even Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, after lifting the Lombardi Trophy aloft, admitted that the grass playing surface wasn’t up to the standard he would expect for a Super Bowl.
“It was a little loose. That’s what happens sometimes when you re-sod,” Reid told the Associated Press. “It’s part of the Butker injury and the (Trent) McDuffie injury, and that’s unfortunate. The turf picked up, and I would tell you that did have something to do with it. If it didn’t, I’d tell you that, too. It’s not an excuse by any means.”
The 2024 Super Bowl will mark the first that George Toma, known as “The Sodfather,” will not be overseeing the playing surface, as he retired following the big game in 2023.
49ers Unhappy With Super Bowl Practice Conditions
Even before Super Bowl Sunday, the 49ers have encountered playing surface issues.
San Francisco is practicing at UNLV, which only has artificial turf for both the indoor and outdoor fields. One of the big issues is that as artificial turf has come under fire in recent years, as it developed a reputation for causing injuries at a higher rate than grass, no NFL team has outdoor turf practice fields.
So, the NFL put down sod a week before the 49ers’ arrival in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. Apparently, the field remains substandard.
“Field conditions for the San Francisco 49ers’ practice facility at UNLV have been met with widespread disapproval from various members of their organization,” sources told Schefter.