When the San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday, it will be one of the biggest games in the team’s history.
The 49ers claim there is just one issue.
The 49ers were sent to UNLV to prepare for the field and have expressed their dissatisfaction with the conditions there, noting a glaring disadvantage going into Sunday’s game, while the Chiefs got to train on the prestigious fields the Raiders utilize.
Some 49ers employees are reportedly dissatisfied with UNLV’s practice field, which the NFL designated as the NFC champion practice during Super Bowl week, according to sources who spoke with CBS Sports. The firmness of the natural grass that the NFL placed over UNLV’s artificial turf before the 49ers began practicing there is reportedly in question.
Members of the grounds crew and equipment staff from the 49ers made the trip to Las Vegas last week to tour the facilities as part of an advance group. According to insiders, the squad has thought about other options because they believe the grass is too soft for them to practice on.
The San Francisco 49ers players and coaches arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday at roughly 6:30 p.m. local time, so they had not yet had a chance to see the field. On Monday afternoon, they have a walkthrough scheduled.
According to sources, this is primarily a preference issue rather than a health and safety concern. According to sources, UNLV’s current surface satisfies all independent, NFL, and NFL Players Association criteria.
One of the instruments the league employs to guarantee a field is up
As of Monday, the 49ers have three possibilities in front of them for a walkthrough. They have three options: a) proceed as planned and practice on the field; b) replace the sod with new, harder material that should be available for practice this week; or c) work out an arrangement with the NFL to use the Las Vegas Raiders practice facility this week, which is where the Chiefs are based.
After an inquiry, Roger Goodell declares the UNLV Super Bowl practice fields open for play for the San Francisco 49ers.
The NFL assigns one squad to be the home team and the other to be the away team for the Super Bowl each year. Every year, that is switched, with the AFC champion being regarded as the home team this time. Typically, this means that the away team practices at the top collegiate facilities in the area, and the home team practices at the facilities of the local NFL team.
The Eagles trained at the Cardinals’ facilities last year, while the Chiefs were the visiting team and used Arizona State as their practice location.
UNLV’s Fertitta Football facility features artificial turf exclusively, but the Raiders’ new facility features both natural and artificial grass fields. While the NFL and the NFL Players Association have conducted collaborative research, there isn’t much of a difference in injury rates between natural grass and
Despite the San Francisco 49ers’ protests, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated in a press conference on Monday afternoon that he sent specialists to UNLV and deemed the fields “playable.”
After their walkthrough this afternoon, it’s unclear as of yet whether the 49ers felt better about the fields; if not, it will be interesting to see if they try to take additional action.
For any NFL team preparing for the Super Bowl, this sounds like an unwanted distraction, but it’s difficult to tell if the team is exaggerating or if the problems are serious.