Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is adding his voice to the turf-versus-grass debate, and the timing matters. The latest wrinkle in the argument has been tied to World Cup games at NFL stadiums, where the question of playing surfaces has been pushed further into the spotlight.
Payton addressed the issue in comments reported by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, which referenced Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom.com. “Our game is a little different,” Payton told Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom.com.
“When you’re playing in the trenches on that surface, you know, the type of football shoes we wear are different. . . . But eventually I think you’re going to see grass in more stadiums where it’s possible.”
Florio also laid out the current split across the league. The teams on grass include the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, the Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and San Francisco 49ers. The other 16 teams play on artificial turf.
Payton also pointed to the practical headaches that come with installing grass in covered stadiums, according to Canfora. Still, multiple enclosed venues have shown that grass can work in a dome for the World Cup.
Florio’s read was that money sits at the center of the larger fight, especially if mandatory grass becomes part of the next CBA. His view was straightforward: if owners want to hold the line on turf, they can use that as leverage to get something back.
For Denver, though, there’s a more specific layer to this. The Broncos have begun building the facilities for their new stadium at Burnham Yards, but construction has been temporarily halted after the accidental death of a construction worker on the project, and an investigation has started.
That leaves two separate questions in play. One is the long-term decision for the new stadium, which is not scheduled to be completed until 2030. In that case, Payton is likely making the case for his owner, and the Broncos would prefer to save money by installing turf if they can.
The other is the immediate reality. Denver already knows how costly it is to keep a grass field in a cold-weather facility, and the team would rather not be forced into extra spending or repeated field changes. That’s a big part of why Payton is speaking up and doing his part on behalf of Broncos owner Greg Penner.
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