A look at the Soldier Field grass in 2003 when the new stadium opened. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(CBS) After Sunday’s sloppy game in the rain, Soldier Field will get new sod Friday.
The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that the middle 40 yards of the field in between the hash marks will get new sod after it sustained too much damage during Sunday night’s game between the Bears and Texans.
According to the report, the entire field was resodded before the Notre Dame-Miami game Oct. 6 and the Bears were hoping not to resod again until the playoffs. After Sunday’s game, however, stadium general manager Tim LeFevour met with Bears general manager Phil Emery and the decision was made to resod before the next home game, Nov. 25 against the Vikings.
Read More:
LeFevour also took exception to complaints Robbie Gould had about the field, saying the kicker “is never satisfied.”
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Gould told WMVP-AM 1000 this week. “This year our field has been really bad. It’s been tore up. There have actually been some places on the field where some portions of it have actually sunk to a new low level, and the other spots are high.
“It’s been really interesting to watch this year how bad our field has really been. I know we have talked about this every single year. … Can we please get somebody in there that watches a news report?”
LeFevour fired back Wednesday, telling the Chicago Tribune: “Those are ridiculous comments. He doesn’t know what he is talking about. The field has not been an issue all year, and we haven’t heard anyone else complaining.”
Asked about it Wednesday, head coach Lovie Smith said a soft field is to the Bears’ advantage.
Gould reiterated his feelings about the turf Wednesday, saying: “I don’t know if I want to deal with that as I get older as kicker.”
Later in the day, he released a statement apologizing to the grounds crew.
