LAS VEGAS — The first flag of Super Bowl LVIII was thrown six days before kickoff, with the San Francisco 49ers unhappy with the soft practice field surface at UNLV, their assigned location for practice this week.
Even before the team arrived for Monday’s first on-field work — a non-contact walkthrough prior to Media Night festivities — of the week, the equipment and grounds employees for the 49ers called out the practice surface for not meeting the team’s preferred level of firmness, CBS Sports reported.
Changing locations to the Raiders’ practice facility, where the Kansas City Chiefs are working out this week, is under consideration along with bringing in a different surface to UNLV’s Fertitta Football Complex.
The league inspects the playing surfaces along with the NFL Players Association before every Super Bowl and approved each facility for use this week.
CBS and ESPN reported the concern from the 49ers isn’t considered a player safety issue.
The NFL would have to approve the proposed move and align practice times to make certain the Chiefs were no longer using the Raiders’ facility, which has turf and grass surfaces available.
Playing surface was a storyline in Glendale, Ariz., last year and specifically the slick track that led to the Chiefs and Eagles struggling to find sure footing throughout the game.
–Field Level Media