PHOENIX – The “borderline unplayable” natural grass field at Acrisure Stadium is soon to be replaced.
Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II confirmed that a sod farm utilizing a different breed of grass is growing what will be laid at the Steelers home stadium this summer.
The playing surface earned an F-minus from players in a survey the players’ union conducted. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers referenced it as “borderline unplayable” after an Oct. 12 game in which kicker Chris Boswell slipped while attempting a field goal and special-teams captain Miles Killebrew suffered a season-ending knee injury,
Rodgers, who remains a free agent, last month during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show complimented just about everything about the Steelers organization – except for the grass at its home stadium.
“Acrisure, other than the field surface itself, is a great place to play,” he said.
The Steelers reportedly are installing a hybrid mixture of Bermuda and bluegrass that is purportedly more resistant to cold weather and the kind of wear-and-tear that a football stadium that hosts both pro and college teams in addition to high school championships might have to endure.
“The field actually will be planted at a sod farm,” Rooney said Tuesday from the site of the NFL owners meetings, “so we won’t get the new field until some time in August. It will be a new surface, a new kind of grass mixture. We’re looking forward to seeing how it works.”
Among all categories on the NFLPA report card graded by Steelers players, the playing surface was the worst rated (F-minus).
“Players across the league note the poor condition of the field,” the survey read, “and emphasize the need for investment to bring it up to standard.”
Rooney did not cite the union survey as reasoning behind the new grass.
“We chose to make the change,” he said from the Arizona Biltmore resort. “It wasn’t mandated by the league. It’s been in use at some other stadiums around the country and seems to be having success. So, we decided to make the change.”