Bears Want To Stick With Grass

By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 14, 2010 3:40PM

Usually tenants are appreciative when their landlord wants to spruce up the place a bit, but the Chicago Bears declined the Chicago Park District's request to replace the natural sod at Soldier Field with an artificial surface.

The artificial surface is easier and cheaper to maintain than the natural stuff, which also has become an issue when the sod wore out and had to be replaced a number of times last season. We're also pretty sure new offensive coordinator Mike Martz, known for his speedy offenses, wants the quicker artificial surface.

But one of the complicating factors of a switch to artificial turf is that the Bears are still awaiting results of a league study on injuries incurred on infill playing surfaces. While not the nightmare on lower extremities the old Astroturf was, the preliminary results still suggest a higher rate of injury compared to grass. While the field might be cheaper for the Park District to maintain, the cost of losing players to injury on the turf could be expensive for the Bears. Plus, it's not really Bears football without the grass stains and clumps of sod stuck in face masks.