MetLife Stadium’s surface had been widely criticized in recent years for the number of high-profile injuries
EAST RUTHERFORD — A new playing surface has been installed at MetLife Stadiumwhere the previous surface had become the subject of widespread criticism in recent years.
Although not grass, the new surface is believed to be an improved synthetic compound that will help decrease the number of injuries that occur in the home of children. New York Giants y New York Jets.
The two New York teams will now play on an improved version of FieldTurf, a recent edition called the FieldTurf Core system, which is the first dual polymer multilayer monofilament fiber.
The design boasts a lower injury rate than other surfaces. The new surface’s performance and durability are backed by multiple independent and certified sources, and it was tested to 200,000 cycles at the Center for Sports Surface Research in Penn State.
The owner of the Giants, John Maraconfirmed to reporters this week that the new surface was installed at the stadium and the team’s practice complex across the parking lot in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Mara he also said he hoped the stadium would eventually transition to a natural or hybrid grass field.
The criticism against the grass has long been its ability to withstand the northeastern climate and frequent use in MetLife Stadium. Several players from Giants publicly expressed their desire to switch to natural grass, including former team captain, Julian Lovewho said that “the statistics have shown that we are on one of the worst fields in the league.”
Meanwhile, FieldTurf Core was considered to be the best option at the moment.
“The installation of the new FieldTurf CORE system reinforces the commitment we have made to provide the best playing surface for our teams,” said the president and CEO of MetLife Stadium, Ron VanDeVeen, this Thursday in a statement. “The research that FieldTurf has done around the design for this new system will equate to MetLife Stadium with one of the premier playing surfaces in the league.
The previous surface in MetLife Stadium had been the subject of multiple complaints in the past, including from the san francisco 49ers after five players suffered lower-body injuries in the same game against the Jets during the 2020 season. Knee injuries sustained by Nick Bosa y Solomon Thomas They ended their seasons.
Last season, the Baltimore Ravens They were dissatisfied after I cornered him Kyle Fuller tore his ACL in a Week 1 game against the Jets in MetLife Stadium.
“Everybody in this league has to do everything they can to provide the best playing surface out there,” said the Los Angeles coach. Ravens, John Harbaughafter that meeting. “How much is invested in the players that go out there to play, and our league really depends on the players, and we want them to have the best of the best, especially the surface that they play on… That surface was flattened, it was tight, a little stiff.”
The recent rate of non-contact injuries in the NFL of knee, ankle and foot is very similar between natural and artificial playing surfaces, according to internal data reviewed by ESPN last year.
Those numbers contradict anecdotal observations from last season by multiple players, agents and coaches who have called on the league to convert all surfaces to grass in response to a series of high-profile injuries on artificial surfaces.
