Chicago Bears HC Matt Eberflus requested new sod at Soldier Field for the 2022 season
As the Chicago Bears prepare for their Week 1 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Matt Eberflus wants to make sure everything is right not only with his team but the place they currently call home as well.
It’s no secret that the playing surface at Soldier Field isn’t the best. It hasn’t been for years now as current and former players as well as fans have expressed their displeasure with the field. With the city of Chicago owning Soldier Field, it’s allowed them to use the venue for other things in addition to football games.
But with Week 1 here, the field is getting re-sodded and Eberflus has put in a special request.
Per Jarrett Payton of WGN Sports, Eberflus made the request to switch the sod from Kentucky bluegrass to Bermuda grass, something he had on the practice fields in Indianapolis:
But, this year, Matt Eberflus did something no Bears coach has ever done before. He asked to switch up the sod.
“Totally surprised,” remarked Soldier Field general manager Tim LeFevour.
So, Kentucky bluegrass is out and Bermuda grass is in, which Eberflus saw firsthand on the practice field in Indianapolis.
“Summer is the most stressful time for Kentucky bluegrass. It’s never really at a weaker point than it is at the end of the summer,” said agronomist and Carolina Green Corp. Field Maintenance Division vice president and superintendent Chris Ecton. “Bermuda grass is a warm season grass, so it just went through its favorite time of year. It’s never going to be stronger than it is right now.”
“It’s so much tighter – the plant and the footing,” LeFevour added. “Players are going to feel that difference. It’s going to be a faster game, I think, you’ll see on this turf. We would have gone to this years ago if we felt we could grow it longer into the fall season.
Payton did a full, exclusive report on the new field sod at Soldier Field with the Carolina Green company who delivered the grass. I recommend checking that out for some good insight on the process including how it’s grown and delivered.
We don’t know if this will help Matt Ebeflus’ Bears’ team to win anymore games here in 2021, but at least the field has the chance to look nice?
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