Playing surface at Azteca Stadium repaired with sod ahead of Chiefs-Rams game
Update (4 p.m.): The NFL has decided to move the Chiefs-Rams game to LA.
Original story: The damaged playing surface at Azteca Stadium, which has put the Chiefs-Rams game Monday night in doubt, is getting a boost from new sod and repairs.
The field, which is a combination of turf and grass, appeared to be in poor condition in earlier photos from overuse and heavy rains. But videos and photos from KMBC Channel 9, which had a reporter at the stadium in Mexico City on Tuesday, showed trucks with rolls of sod and workers working to install the new pieces of the surface.
The originial videos, though, were deleted shortly after they were posted. Earlier this year, the stadium switched from a natural grass field to hybrid turf. The installation hit a few snags, according to an ESPN report, and it was completed just three days before the start of a soccer season.
The turf, called PlayMaster and developed by Tarkett Sports, is the first of its kind in Mexico. The company also makes the GrassMaster turf, which has a lifespan of 15 years. According to the company’s webiste, the PlayMaster is a “high quality shorter term solution offering similar characteristics to a GrassMaster on a more flexible basis.”
The company’s FAQ also says that its sods can be grown in nurseries, and once the rolls are installed, the field is “instantly playable.”
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL is determined to have the game in Mexico, but some NFL officials expressed concerns over the playing surface. He also reported a number of Rams and Chiefs players are “now strongly considering not playing” in the Monday night game because of the poor surface conditions.
League officials are convening Tuesday in a previously scheduled meeting in Mexico City to examine the playing surface and determine whether the game will be played there. If the Monday night game can’t be played as scheduled, it could be postponed or moved to Los Angeles.
NFL rules mandate the home team in an international game has to have its stadium available in case a game is moved, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Rams are the home game for this series, and there isn’t an event scheduled at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for Monday night. Both teams have a bye week after the Monday night game.
“We are working closely with the field manager at Azteca Stadium and others to ensure that we have an NFL-quality surface for our game, and we are looking forward to kicking off in Mexico City on Monday night,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement to ESPN.
Brooke Pryor
Brooke Pryor covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.
This story was originally published November 13, 2018 at 12:52 PM.