While NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that the practice fields at UNLV are "playable" for the San Francisco 49ers as the team gears up for sports' grandest event, Super Bowl 58, NFLPA Executive Director Lloyd Howell stated that isn't good enough.
According to Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group, Howell declared that the UNLV field "isn't nearly up to snuff with what our players deserve. Hopefully, we've gotten to a working condition."
NFLPA exec Lloyd Howell Jr. says 49ers field at UNLV "isn't nearly up to snuff with what our players deserve. Hopefully we've gotten to a working condition."
NFLPA president JC Tretter takes exception to NFL commish describing it as "playable," that it's not same as high quality pic.twitter.com/24dA4GW05D
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) February 7, 2024
While the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs utilize the Las Vegas Raiders' practice facilities, the 49ers will conduct their on-field work at UNLV. In preparation for the arrival of the NFC champions, the NFL laid natural grass over UNLV's artificial turf.
Following their victory in the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers dispatched equipment staff and grounds team members to assess the conditions in Las Vegas. On Monday, CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reported that the team found the surfaces "a bit soft for their liking" and began exploring alternatives.
According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the 49ers even considered flying back to the Bay Area after Monday night's media obligations so the team could practice on their own fields in Santa Clara. However, the 49ers have chosen to stay in Las Vegas and utilize the UNLV fields.
"We're not going to completely change our schedule, do something crazy," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday night. "We'll deal with what we've got, and we're good."
NFLPA President J.C. Tretter stated that the union doesn't believe the UNLV fields pose injury risks but acknowledges that the NFL could have made a better effort to improve them.
"We need to raise the level to make surfaces high quality," Tretter said, per Pro Football Talk.
When asked about the UNLV fields, 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk stated, "We did walk-throughs on it [on Monday], and I wouldn't say it was the best. But it wasn't the worst."
Safety Tashaun Gipson added, "It was a little softer than guys would probably like. Not Santa Clara feels, just put it like that. No excuses. Obviously, this week is Super Bowl week. We just got to make do with what we got. Obviously, if it don't change, if nothing can change about it, that's nothing that we can control."
The 49ers will hold three full practices this week—Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday sessions—before Sunday's clash with the Chiefs.