Football players who will descend on Arizona’s State Farm Stadium for the annual Fiesta Bowl and Super Bowl will get the chance to play on newly grown sod thanks to technology only in use by a few stadiums across the country.
The facility in Glendale, Arizona, is one of the two NFL sites with the capability to grow its grass playing field outside and roll it inside ahead of games.
“The roll-out natural grass playing field is contained in a single 40-inch-deep tray measuring 234 feet wide and 403 feet long,” State Farm Stadium said. “Rolling on 546 steel wheels which rest on 13 railroad-like tracks the field travels the 740 feet inside or out of the stadium.”
State Farm Stadium uses Bermuda grass and boasts that it was the first facility in North America to incorporate a retractable playing surface for the grass. It does so to take advantage of the maximum sunshine and nourishment in the usually warm desert sun.
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The Phoenix area averages four months a year with temperatures that reach over 100 degrees, and during warm streaks, it is common to see temperatures not dip below 90 degrees during the night hours.
Glendale is not the only city that has apparently perfected the art form, the $1.8 Billion Allegiant Stadium, home to the Las Vegas Raiders, is the other NFL facility with a retractable field.
State Farm Stadium officials say the grass has the feel and playability of a traditional playing surface.
In addition to the unique grass, the stadium also has a retractable roof than can seal off the facility and allow air conditioning to comfort more than 63,000 fans.
The stadium typically keeps the roof closed during early-season football games but will likely have it open during the Fiesta Bowl. High temperatures for the New Year’s Eve bowl game are usually in the mid-60s, making the feels like temperatures comfortable for attendees.
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Despite the desert location, precipitation is possible year-round, with the region seeing its heaviest rainfall during the monsoon season.
A typical year only averages around 7.5″ of rainfall in the Phoenix area, and more days end up being sunny and dry versus those with precipitation.
Pending any crazy weather, State Farm Stadium plans to keep the roof open for February’s Super Bowl LVII, just like the last two times it hosted the big game.
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