EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A brand new enjoying floor has been put in at MetLife Stadium, the place the earlier turf had grow to be an object of widespread criticism lately.
Whereas not grass, the brand new floor is believed to be an improved artificial turf that may lower the variety of accidents that happen on the dwelling of the New York Giants and New York Jets.
The 2 New York groups will now play on an up to date model of FieldTurf — a current version known as FieldTurf Core system, which is the primary multilayer dual-polymer monofilament fiber.
The heavyweight infill design claims to ship a decrease incidence of whole accidents in comparison with numerous infill weights. The efficiency and sturdiness of the floor are backed by a number of unbiased licensed sources and was examined to 200,000 cycles on the fiber put on take a look at by Penn State’s Middle for Sports activities Floor Analysis.
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Giants proprietor John Mara confirmed to reporters this week that the brand new turf was put in on the stadium and the workforce apply facility throughout the parking zone in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Mara additionally mentioned he hoped that the stadium finally will convert to both a grass or hybrid discipline.
The sticking level with grass has lengthy been its potential to carry up beneath the Northeast local weather and heavy utilization of MetLife Stadium. A number of Giants gamers publicly expressed their want to vary to pure grass, together with former workforce captain Julian Love, who mentioned “the stats have proven we’re on one of many worst fields within the league.”
Within the meantime, FieldTurf Core was thought-about the best choice presently.
“Set up of the brand new FieldTurf CORE system reinforces the dedication we’ve got to offering the most effective enjoying floor for our groups,” president and CEO of MetLife Stadium Ron VanDeVeen mentioned Thursday in an announcement. “The analysis that FieldTurf has put into the heavyweight infill design for this new discipline system will equip MetLife Stadium with one of many premier surfaces within the league.”
The earlier turf at MetLife Stadium has been the topic of a number of complaints up to now, together with by the San Francisco 49ers after 5 gamers suffered lower-body accidents in the identical sport towards the Jets in the course of the 2020 season. The knee accidents suffered by Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas have been season-ending.
Final season, the Baltimore Ravens have been sad after cornerback Kyle Fuller tore an ACL at MetLife in a Week 1 sport towards the Jets.
“All people on this league ought to do every little thing they’ll to place the most effective floor on the market,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh mentioned after that sport. “How a lot is invested within the gamers who go on the market and play, and our league actually is a player-driven league, and we would like these guys to have the most effective of the most effective, particularly surfaces to play on. … That turf was matted down, it was packed down, it was a little bit tight.”
The NFL’s current price of noncontact accidents to the knee, ankle and foot is roughly the identical on pure and synthetic enjoying surfaces, in line with inside information reviewed by ESPN final yr.
These numbers contradict anecdotal observations from this previous season from a large swath of gamers, brokers and coaches who’ve known as for the league to transform all surfaces to grass in response to a collection of high-profile accidents on synthetic turf.
