Raiders owner Mark Davis has made his position on the grass-versus-turf debate plain: he wanted real grass in Allegiant Stadium, and he wanted it there because he believes it’s safer.
In a feature by A.J. Perez for the L.A.
Times, Davis said the choice came down to his players and the feel of the game. “I just always felt that football should be played on grass,” Raiders owner Mark Davis told Perez.
“That’s for safety purposes, No. 1.
I want it to look like a game was played even if it’s an indoor field. You see grass stains and everything else.
I wasn’t going to a stadium without it being grass once I knew that capability was there. Obviously, it added a lot of cost, but it’s worth it.”
Allegiant Stadium uses a grass surface that slides in and out of the fixed-roof building, giving the Raiders the setup Davis wanted. He could have gone with artificial turf, but instead chose to absorb the extra expense.
The broader debate has only grown louder as multiple NFL owners have worked to install grass temporarily for the World Cup, and Davis has clearly landed on one side of it. In this case, he’s being credited for putting player safety first, while the owners who continue to rely on artificial turf because it costs less are drawing scrutiny.
And when the next CBA comes around, the league office may not be eager to hear Davis make that same argument again.
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