Months after it was installed, the New England Patriots are replacing the synthetic turf playing surface at Gillette Stadium.
In May, the Patriots announced that a new FieldTurf surface was being installed at Gillette Stadium, a decision that not only affected NFL action, but matches for MLS’ New England Revolution. The Revolution played their first game on the surface months ago, with the Patriots hosting two preseason games in August before last Thursday’s regular season opener resulted in a 42-27 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
With neither the Patriots nor the Revolution scheduled to be home until September 23, it leaves an appropriate window for the field to be replaced with another synthetic playing surface. Though the previous turf met safety standards for the NFL and MLS, it reportedly did not meet the team’s standards. More from ESPN:
The new surface had passed all NFL and Major League Soccer safety standards, according to a Patriots spokesman. The change to another synthetic surface comes as a result of the prior surface not meeting team standards.
Within the last month, some players have commented that the new Gillette Stadium surface had been especially soft.
The Patriots played only three games on the recently installed synthetic surface — two in the preseason and then the regular-season opener. They had one practice on the field, which was two days before the season opener, although kicker Stephen Gostkowski, punter Ryan Allen and long-snapper Joe Cardona regularly practice on the field.
The project began on Sunday, with the Revolution’s most recent home match taking place on Saturday. The Revolution will not play another home match until September 23, while the Patriots are not returning to Gillette Stadium until September 24, when they host the Houston Texans.
Image courtesy New England Patriots.
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