We’re less than a month away from this year’s NFL Kickoff Game, set to take place on September 8. But with the season only a few weeks off, one high-profile figure in the sport is raising an alarm over the conditions on one team’s home turf. The home turf in question is Soldier Field, which hosted a pre-season game between the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
As ESPN reports, JC Tretter — president of the NFL Players Association — took to Twitter after the game to address conditions on the ground (literally) at Soldier Field. “The NFL said that this field met minimum testing standards,” Tretter wrote. “We clearly need to re-evaluate what is an acceptable surface for players to compete on.”
Accompanying his message was an image of the field, which showed the playing surface in disarray.
As for what resulted in the field’s condition, ESPN’s report cited a recent Elton John concert — part of his farewell tour — as having contributed to these issues.
The Bears aren’t the only team that calls Soldier Field home that’s faced issues with the playing surface. Chicago Fire FC moved one of their forthcoming games to SeatGeek Stadium over what the team referred to as “the league’s policy on maintaining the condition of the field of play in accordance with MLS Standards.” Later this week, Soldier Field will host concerts by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bad Bunny.
Balancing the range of events that take place at a stadium isn’t always easy — and the issues brought to light by Tretter’s Tweet make that especially clear.
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