The New England Patriots are up against a time crunch as they prepare to kick off the preseason on Thursday evening.
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The team has to install a new artificial turf playing field at Gillette Stadium after hosting multiple World Cup matches in June. According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, the Patriots replaced the natural grass field used during the World Cup with an artificial turf. The NFL and NFL Players Association have since deemed this replacement turf to be non-compliant.
Reiss notes that the reinstalled turf had initially passed all tests by the NFL and MLS so that it could host New England Patriots games and New England Revolution matches. However, the non-compliance stems from the field not having the rubber shock pad, or E-layer, beneath the field system.
Now, the team must install a new artificial surface this week while preparing to host its first game of the preseason. The surface must then be vetted through the NFL and NFL Players Association independent laboratory testing protocols.
The Patriots have not indicated that the timeline will pose a problem for scheduling purposes. Chief operating officer Jim Nolan also indicates that the new surface will not cause issues for the players fighting to secure spots on the roster.
These players will not be adapting to a different playing surface while trying to show that they are better than others at their respective positions.
"The field we're installing is the latest version of the field we took out in January," Nolan said. "From a player perspective, it will be incredibly consistent with what they played on last year."
The Patriots will host the Colts on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET. This game will most likely take place on the updated artificial playing surface. The two teams will also take part in join practice sessions this week while preparing for the matchup. Though these sessions will happen on the practice fields.
