If there’s one thing that might be able to stop the offensive explosion that everyone’s expecting between the Chiefs and Rams next week, it’s the horrid condition of the field at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
The playing surface is looking ugly, and apparently, the NFL is seriously concerned about the issue. According to NBC’s Peter King, there’s “significant worry” about the state of the unique hybrid surface, which is made up of a combination of grass and synthetic filler.
The league is actually so concerned about the field situation that a crew will be checking things out on Monday and Tuesday to decide if anything needs to be done.
“We are working closely with the field manager at Azteca Stadium and others to ensure that we have an NFL quality surface for our game,” the league told the Associated Press in a statement.
If the most recent pictures of the field are any indication, the NFL might just be better off tearing out the old surface and replacing it with something new. Azteca Stadium has been hosting multiple events over the past few months, including two big ones that have been held over the past week alone.
On Nov. 7, Mexican television network Telehit held a gigantic concert at the stadium, and here’s what things looked like during the concert.
That looks like fun.
The problem for the NFL is that the concert left the playing surface in abysmal condition. Here’s what the field looked like the day after the concert.
That’s definitely not a surface you want two NFL teams playing on.
After the concert was over, the NFL still couldn’t get into the stadium to fix things, and that’s because Mexican soccer team Cruz Azul played at the venue on Saturday. After their 2-1 win over Lobos BUAP, the field looked like this.
That field is in bad shape and it’s safe to say that most NFL teams probably wouldn’t be comfortable playing on that kind of surface.
For Azteca Stadium, the real problem started earlier this year when the venue decided to tear out its natural grass field and replace it with the hybrid field that’s currently there. According to ESPN.com, no one was really sure how the new field would hold up after hosting multiple soccer games and concerts (Note: It hasn’t held up well). Not to mention, Mexico’s rainy season has been rainier than normal, which has also been devastating for the field.
With the Chiefs and the Rams set to kickoff on Nov. 19, the NFL basically has one week to get things figured out. The Chiefs-Rams game actually opened with the highest over/under in NFL history and let’s just say that you might want to take the under if the field isn’t in better condition by next Monday.