Thread: Mc's defend..seriously.Soldier field turf

Originally Posted by The Benjamin

There is no such thing as Bear weather. It is a myth.

Just ask the 49ers who kicked our ass in "Bear Weather"

The winter weather in SF won't win any "fun in the sun" prizes either Benji. It may not snow but it gets wet, sloppy and foggy there too. Those 80's 49'er teams were so good that they could kick ass despite the weather. But Ric is right. This is not a team built on 3 yards and a cloud of dust anymore. It's a team built on defensive speed and now even offensive precision. It's hard to make that work when you play the last 3 or 4 home games in a quagmire if it rains or snows. Screw the weather. They need to fix the field.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Scorre reported that they are going with another sod supplier. That's a start, but I cannot blame the supplier b/c the CPD couldn't be bothered to put it down/water it in the correct amount of time.
They need to get a new crew out there.

Seems about as effective as switching from Motrin to Aleve because the former didn't cure your headache. There are differences in sod suppliers and I remember when the Broncos had to do it years ago when they still played in the old Mile High Stadium but in this case I think it's more PR than anything significant. It may make for a better field in the early fall but grass goes dormant during the late fall in far northern climates so what good does this do from late November on?

I agree that they need a full time professional grounds crew in place of simple city workers but that still only solves part of the problem. Hell they played on a crappy astro turf rug for much of the 70's and early 80's and it's hard for me to believe the current natural turf substitutes aren't far better than that. Maybe with enough heat, water, and light plus a blanket to cover the field between games they can maintain a dececent grass field but that also means keeping other events off of it too and I'll bet the CPD is unwilling to do that.

Chicago Bears Soldier Field Turf Gate 2011 | Chicago Bears

Had to post the link to this article because what I wanted to post won't copy and display. You won't believe it but the sponsor for this article is True Green Lawn Care.

No, I'm not kidding. Go to the link and you can see it for yourself.

Chicago Bears Soldier Field Turf Gate 2011

Published: 15 hours ago

Chicago Bears Soldier Field Turf Gate 20110


Jonathan Carroll
jonathancarroll






In 1986, the Chicago Bears decided to switch the surface at Solider Field to natural grass. Since that time, it has been a study in crappy field management. I remember one of my first memories of Solider Field turf was watching former running back Neil Anderson making a cut and watching his foot come out from under him with the turf flying and him landing on his rear end.

During the 2009 season, my father and I were invited to tour Halas Hall. At that time, we met the Chicago Bears head groundskeeper Ken Mrock. He went into this whole tirade how the media and fans have no idea about the turf at Soldier Field. He continued to say how great the playing surface is at Soldier Field and the players like it.

Last Friday, the Chicago Bears cancelled Family Night at Soldier Field due to the field’s poor conditions. I’m not expert, but how hard is it to grow grass? Obviously it’s really hard. Therefore, why can’t the Chicago Bears go to an artificial surface? With modern technology, the new playing surfaces are considered even better than grass. I’m not sure how long the process would take, but it has to be more cost-effective than sodding the field ever game or so.

On the other hand, how many injuries did the team suffer last season on the field?

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Chicago Bears Soldier Field Turf Gate 20110

Who Is To Blame for Family Fest Debacle?


On Friday night, Bears fans were put squarely in the middle of an ongoing turf war between the Bears brass and the Chicago Park District, who runs Soldier Field.

Poor field conditions led to the cancellation of the annual family fest, ruining an evening for Bears fans who had made the trek to Soldier Field despite the traffic and public transportation logjams created by Lollapalooza and typical Friday-in-summer rush hour traffic.
Bears president George McCaskey said in the wake of the incident the team is now working closely with the CPD.

"Update is we have assisted the CPD with the maintenance plan that began Friday night and continued over the weekend," McCaskey said. "Our head grounds keeper will be at Soldier Field today to look at and assess the next steps to make sure the field is in the proper condition for Saturday."

Great to hear they're working together, finally. But we here at Grizzly Detail aren't ready to move on just yet. We've got some blame to throw around. Who shoulders the most fault for the turf troubles at Soldier Field?

Chicago Park District: Look, it's their job to keep Soldier Field in good shape, and they failed. It's as simple as that. You can get into how they failed to water the grass, or clean up after U2, or learn groundskeeping principles from their friends at Wrigley, but the fact is that they didn't do their job, and fans suffered.

Chicago Bears staff: If you're hosting a party at a banquet hall, do you get there the same time as your guests? No, you show up early to make sure that the tables are set, the placecards are out, and that the DJ's speakers aren't near Aunt Mildred's table because really, who wants to listen to her complain. The Bears were hosting a party for thousands of fans, but didn't send anyone to check out the notoriously terrible field ahead of time. Lovie Smith should have a minion just for this purpose. Because he didn't, the team announced a cancellation after most fans were already stuck in rush hour/Lollapalooza traffic, if not already parked at the field.

Fans: Nope! They take zero percent of the blame. They were Bears fans who just wanted to see their team play, and drove hours to do so. They also didn't hop any barriers, rush the field, and tear up Soldier Field with their bare hands in anger after hearing the news. Good job, fans.

The NFL: The squabble over the field conditions in Chicago aren't new, yet the league has stayed curiously silent on the issue. Friday night's snafu only affected Chicago, but over the course of the season, at least eight teams who aren't the Bears will play on that terrible field. Shoddy field conditions put both teams in risk, so why hasn't the league interceded and told the Bears and the Park District to improve the field or else? If the league is serious about player safety, they won't stand for another minute of this nonsense.

The players: Yes, they deserve a tiny bit of blame. Not each individual, but their union was just recertified, and player safety should be union's top concern. Poor playing conditions can lead to injuries, so it's time for DeMaurice Smith and the players' association to point out the problems at Soldier Field.


BY Maggie Hendricks // Monday, Aug 8, 2011 at 11:56 CDT | Print

This was a pretty good article about how the blame for field conditions at Soldier Field should be apportioned. I really like the author's position that both the NFL and the NFLPA should be involved in this. Maybe if they forced the issue those reports George McCaskey has been so anxious to trumpet in defense of his chosen playing surface would get trashed like they should.

Did any of you all listen to the stuff that Scott Van Pelt said about the Bears' handling of the turf at Soldier Field? He was right about it, but boy, he sure didn't pull any punches.