LAS VEGAS — Another Super Bowl, another problem with the playing surface.
Does the NFL have a field problem?
It seems that way, as reports have surfaced that the 49ers are not happy with their football accommodations at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
The facility at UNLV recently installed sod on top of two artificial turf fields and the 49ers are not impressed.
“I mean it’s not the best field I’ve ever been on, but we can still go out and get our work done,” 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward said Monday night inside Allegiant Stadium, site of Super Bowl 2024. “I’ve played on better. It’s soft.”
That seems to be the main complaint.
The Chiefs, designated as the home team for the Super Bowl, get to practice this week at the Raiders facility in Henderson, Nev.
The 49ers, as the road team, were assigned to a college facility that is not living up to their expectations.
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said he hopes the field will improve as the week goes on and there are no plans to attempt to move practice elsewhere.
At this point, there is no plan in place to allow the Niners to use the Raiders’ facility when the Chiefs are not there.
Last week, members of the 49ers staff and members of their grounds crew checked out the field at UNLV and apparently were not satisfied with the conditions.
Not so, says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who said Monday the practice fields at UNLV are up to specifications.
“We’ve had 23 experts out there,” Goodell said. “We had the [NFL] union out there. All of them think it’s a very playable surface. It’s softer than what they practiced on, but that happens. It’s well within all of our testing standards. It is something we think all of our experts — as well as neutral field inspectors — have all said unanimously that it’s a playable field.”
There was disappointment when the 49ers hit the field for the first time, guard Jon Feliciano told The Post.
“It’s soft,” Feliciano, who played for the Giants in 2022, said. “For lineman, that’s the least of my worries. But I understand guys that have to cut and do all that they’re gonna be slipping around. It’s definitely a worry that you don’t want to turn an ankle or something.
“They were definitely like ‘What the heck?’ We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days, hopefully it gets better.’’
One year ago, complaints rang out after the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII, as players ripped the playing surface inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Players slipped repeatedly during the game, which was played on a natural grass field rolled into the stadium via a tray system.
The Eagles did not register a single sack on Patrick Mahomes and afterward were livid that the field prevented them from getting enough traction for a pass rush.
“I’m not going to lie: It was the worst field I ever played on,” Eagles pass-rusher Haason Reddick said after that game.
Thus far this week, the 49ers know the feeling.
