The Indianapolis Colts start their preseason schedule Thursday, Aug. 13, at the New England Patriots — as long as a proper field is available.
The Patriots replaced the grass field used in the World Cup at Gillette Stadium (or “Boston Stadium,” as announcers called it) with artificial turf after the July 9 match between France and Morocco.
However, the new turf was deemed noncompliant by the NFL and NFL Players Association after laboratory testing. That means another attempt to install a field before Thursday night’s game.
Patriots COO Jim Nolan told ESPN’s Mike Reiss: “The field we’re installing is the latest version of the field we took out in January. From a player perspective, it will be incredibly consistent with what they played on last year.”
The Patriots didn’t detail what field was put in place first or why it failed testing.
The Colts have seen a turf problem result in a canceled preseason game. The 2016 Hall of Fame game against the Green Bay Packers was scrapped after the paint on the field had “congealed and rubberized,” making it unplayable.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: New England Patriots field issues may affect Indianapolis Colts NFL preseason opener
Reporting by Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
