Two months after the NFL Players Association called for a ban on the type of turf used at Ford Field, the Detroit Lions are installing a new surface for 2023.
The Lions said Monday they are switching from a slit-film turf to a monofilament field turf, which is considered the most grass-like surface of the three kinds of turf used in NFL stadiums.
Installation, which was originally scheduled for 2024, is scheduled to begin this month as part of a package of stadium enhancements. The team said the decision was made to move installation up one year “once it became unlikely that we would host a home playoff game this year.” 메이저놀이터
The Lions (8-8) can clinch a playoff spot with a win in Sunday’s regular season finale against the Green Bay Packers and a Seattle Seahawks loss to the Los Angeles Rams. If they make the postseason, they would be the seventh seed and would spend the playoffs on the road.
“This has been in the making for a while, and (team president Rod Wood has) been talking about this for before anything came up about the grass and this and that,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We’re committed. (Owner) Sheila (Hamp) and Rod are committed to finding — whatever it is, we know we can’t have grass, we’re a dome team, so let’s find the very best, the best-rated turf that we can get. So that’s been a priority.”
Ford Field is one of six NFL stadiums that currently use slit-film turf, along with U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the Superdome in New Orleans, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
MetLife Stadium also plans to change playing surfaces this offseason.
In November, NFL Players Association president J.C. Tretter called for the NFL to ban the use of slit-film turf and transition to grass fields at all its stadiums. He wrote on social media that slit-film turf has higher rates of non-contact injuries, foot and ankle injuries, and injuries that cause players to miss time than monofilament or dual-fiber turf fields.