The San Francisco 49ers are having a small problem with their new $1.2 billion stadium: No one can figure out how to properly grow grass in it.
For the second year in a row, the sod at Levi's Stadium is falling apart and for the second year in a row, the team is being forced to move a practice that was previously scheduled to be held at the stadium.
If it seems like nothing's going right for the 49ers this year, that's not too far off.
Hasn't been an easy past nine months for Niners fans. #49ers http://t.co/8MUVUWYCvE pic.twitter.com/D19mQ2PCCV
— John Breech (@johnbreech) August 7, 2015
Back to the sod though.
The team announced this week that an open practice scheduled to be held in front of 20,000 fans on Aug. 9 has been moved from Levi's to the team's practice field, where zero fans will be able to watch -- because the practice will no longer be open to the general public.
"We extend our sincere apologies to those fans who were scheduled to attend Sunday’s practice," Levi's Stadium general manager Jim Mercurio said in a statement. "After a thorough inspection [on Thursday], our grounds crew determined that the field would not be ready by Sunday. Therefore, the recommendation was made to relocate practice. We remain confident that our turf management program will provide a playing surface that meets the team's standards, as we enter the 2015 NFL season."
So far, the surface definitely hasn't met the team's standards.
The 49ers were schedule to practice at the two-year old stadium from Aug. 1-4, but those plans changed after the sod started to fail on Day 1.
Replace your own divots. #49ers #TrainingCamp pic.twitter.com/t6n5yhfQ6i
— John Dickinson (@JDJohnDickinson) August 2, 2015
"We're not going to put them at risk," coach Jim Tomsula said after the team's Aug. 2 practice at Levi's.
The 49ers moved their Aug. 3 and 4 practices to the team facility before returning to Levi's Stadium on Aug. 5 for a fan event. However, the field wasn't any better for that practice.
I'd report that Levi's Stadium sod is getting shredded again, but that's like telling you the sun is setting #49ersCamp
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 6, 2015
Last year, the team ended up tearing out the field and completely replacing it twice before the season even started and it looks like that's what's going to happen again.
The field is scheduled to be replaced after a Taylor Swift concert on Aug. 15.
The replacement field will then be used for two 49ers preseason games (Aug. 23, Sept. 3) and a Luke Bryan concert (Aug. 29) before being replaced again in time for the 49ers Monday night home opener against the Vikings on Sept. 14.
The field will then be replaced as needed during the season.
The field will also be replaced before Levi's Stadium hosts Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7.
If the grass thing isn't figured out by February though, we could see an interesting second half in the Super Bowl if the sod gets torn up during the halftime show.
In the meantime, we could have a 2015 season where the 49ers are just picking at grass.
