Nevada’s Las Vegas — Later today, when the players warm up at Allegiant Stadium, they will be walking onto a $US800,000 field that has been in construction for ten months.
In May 2023, NRL management began examining Allegiant Stadium and the practicalities of holding an NRL game on an NFL field.
There were two things to take into account: the size and the possibility of bolting in rugby league posts, which had two sticks instead of the NFL’s single stick at the base.
It was game on when it was established that the NFL-sized field could be enlarged and that there would be no problems getting posts in.
In front of an anticipated 45,000 spectators, players got their first look yesterday at Allegiant Stadium and the altered field they will be playing on.
One of the main topics of discussion leading up to this record Round 1 double header has been the field’s size. Rather than being 100 meters by 68 meters, it is 94.5 meters from goalpost to goalpost and 64 meters wide. Additionally, the eight-meter in-goals have been reduced to six and a half meters.
The referees will change the defensive line’s position to ensure it remains at 10 meters. Foxsports.com.au verified with NRL authorities that each 10-meter block on the field is actually 9.45 meters. This explains where the length has been cut.
However, a smaller field is not unheard of. The field at Olympic Park where the Melbourne Storm played for fifteen years was six4.5 meters wide, and the in-goals for the Rugby League World Cup final at Old Trafford were less than five meters.
The field has been made as large as it can be, and in order to make more space, Fox League’s corner cameras, which are typically positioned on the pitch’s edge, will now be located in the grandstand.
Nonetheless, during their captain’s run and stadium tours, players observed how little room there is between the bleachers and the field’s corners.
Additionally, a grey surface that is composed of the same material as an athletics track surrounds the field.
The grandstand has padding in the corners for player safety, and astroturf has been installed over the athletics track surface up to the 10-meter line. However, discussions about extending it farther were held late yesterday.
When the proportions are taken out of the discussion, the field and the way it is maintained become really remarkable.
The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers played the Super Bowl on the same Bermuda grass field a few weeks ago, and the same grounds team that took care of that field also worked on turning it into an NRL venue.
Naturally, it was their first time marking up a rugby league field.
Allegiant Stadium features a roof, therefore the field has been exposed to sunlight outside. Two days before the games, it was wheeled in, a procedure that required about an hour.
The posts were installed on Friday morning (local time), and they have been painted sulphur yellow in homage to the NFL.
Fans will note the faint remnants of the Chiefs emblem on the western side of the field, even though the grass was mowed twice to remove the NFL markings. Foxsports.com.au has confirmed that this was intentionally left out as a further homage to the Super Bowl and the NFL.s
