George Toma, better known as the NFL’s “Sodfather,” is overseeing the reported $800,000 field for Super Bowl LVII.
Toma, 94, is considered a legend in NFL history, and he has worked on the field of every Super Bowl ever played, according to a report.
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The field for this Sunday, a Tahoma Hybrid Bermuda grass overseeded with rye, is the second-best he has ever seen.
The best was “between the Bears and the Colts, and it rained the whole day … and there wasn’t a divot taken out of that field,” he said. “This one right here, it was grown here locally by West Coast Turf. And I believe this is the second-best grass we’ve had.”
Toma also broke down what makes good NFL grass.
“You have to have a good root system,” he said. “And, this field is very tight.”
Over time, a lot of changes have been made regarding the way the NFL selects and tests its grass for the big game, according to Toma.
“In the first 27 Super Bowls, we never spent more than $1,000 on the field, and this one here is around $800,000,” he said.
In the early Super Bowls, Toma only had nine to 14 days to get the grass to go from seed to blade, he said.
The sod for Super Bowl LVII has been growing for 18 months.
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When it was finally installed in Glendale’s State Farm Stadium, the sod was transported in and out daily using a mechanical platform to maintain proper levels of sunlight and the right temperature, according to the report.
After the game, the NFL will explore ways to donate it.
