Slippery when wet, but Soldier Field turf holds up

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...,1164478.story
By Fred Mitchell, Chicago Tribune reporter 10:53 p.m. CDT, August 9, 2012


The Chicago Park District had been dying for more rain this summer, just not immediately before the Bears' exhibition opener at Soldier Field.

A blue tarp covered the field before Thursday night's game against the Broncos as a steady drizzle and intermittent downpours cascaded onto the stadium.

At 5:51 p.m., the grounds crew began lifting the tarp, although the threat of severe weather persisted. The first half was basically rain-free.

The turf looked pristine from the press box, but a few players slipped on the wet turf, as might be expected.

Bears second-year receiver Dane Sanzenbacher slipped after making a 3-yard catch from quarterback Jason Campbell on a third-down play early in the second quarter.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has said consistently that player safety is of paramount concern and issued more reminders recently when he visited Bears training camp at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais.

"You don't grow a lot of grass in Chicago in November or December. So you just have to be prepared for that," Goodell said of the annual challenge to keep the field playable late in the season.

Soldier Field will be host to a high school football game Aug. 26 and the Northern Illinois vs. Iowa football game Sept. 1 before the Bears host the Colts in the season opener Sept. 9. Soldier Field spokesman Luca Serra has said members of the Park District plan to meet with Bears officials following the NIU-Iowa game to determine how much of the field will need to be re-sodded before the Bears-Colts game.

"It's about what makes sense for the Bears in terms of the injuries that come about during the season and trying to maximize the longevity of these players," Serra told the Tribune recently. "There are a lot of reports out there that the NFL has done and that the Bears have done independently. And there are still kind of mixed reviews out there in terms of hybrid fields, synthetic fields and what you can do with that in terms of keeping the players healthy and maximizing their career length."

fmitchell@tribune.com

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