There was concern among the teams who in fewer than 12 hours will be playing in Super Bowl XLIX that the grass field at University of Phoenix Stadium (home of the only undefeated college football team in American history) would be in rough shape after: (1) the Pro Bowl last Sunday; and (2) rehearsals for tonight’s halftime show.
Per a high-ranking official with one of the teams that will square off there tonight, the field is considered to be in excellent condition, especially in light of the recent usages of it.
During Saturday rehearsals for the NBC pregame show, the perimeter of the playing surface seemed to be soft and fully covered with thick grass, unlike so many of the grass fields that develop conspicuous bare patches. Some field, like University of Phoenix Stadium in 2013, have displayed bare patches even early in the season.
As a result, neither team will be able to claim that the balls weren’t fully inflated, and neither team will be able to blame any poor performances on the large sliding tray of earth under their feet.
