Thursday, the Redskins broke ground on their new training facility in Richmond, Va., but according to general manager Bruce Allen, the ground at FedEx Field will not be converted to artificial turf, even after there were numerous complaints about the field's condition at the end of the 2012 season.
Allen admitted that the Redskins missed their chance to re-sod the field in Landover last season, which led to its less-than-stellar state, especially during the NFC Wild Card Round matchup between the Redskins and Seattle Seahawks. Both Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons injured their knees in that game, the former requiring reconstructive surgery on his right knee and the latter tearing his left ACL. Clemons' agent would later call the FedEx Field conditions "crappy," while Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said that his team "[deserved] better."
To avoid this issue next season, Allen said Thursday that the Redskins plan to establish an in-season schedule for re-sodding the field.
“Once the schedule comes out [in April], our people are ready to commit to a schedule so we have some new sod for the end of the year,” Allen told reporters. “But obviously it’s not going to grow. We’re not in Florida. But we think that is going to address the playing field in December and, hopefully, January.”
Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamVingan and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.
