Soldier Field
Credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images
We are now just hours away from the Minnesota Vikings kicking off their 2025 regular season at Solider Field against the Chicago Bears. It’s the highly-anticipated debut of J.J. McCarthy. The young quarterback is set to take the field against his hometown team.
Kevin O’Connell’s squad has high aspirations this season. As always, achieving them will revolve around a general level of consistent health. Unfortunately for them, Chicago’s playing surface is already in tough shape.
Chicago’s dingy stadium already causing problems for MN Vikings
Soldier Field was built in 1924. The Chicago Bears have played their since 1971. Of course it has undergone renovations and upgrades, but among the most consistent problems has been the playing surface itself. Now just hours from Monday Night Football, the pregame updates are not good.
Several members of the field crew at Soldier Field are surveying the turf right now and placing a sand/seed mix in areas that need to be filled on the playing surface. The field was re-sodded after a stretch of five concerts at the end of August.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 8, 2025
Sporting venues are often popular places to hold concerts due to their massive capacities. It’s also the draw of experience something in a non-traditional way. That said, hosting those concerts around key points on the calendar for the intended purpose of said sporting venues never seems to go well.
There is a level of resiliency when a playing surface is turf. When it is grass, and you have that many people trampling all over it for hours on end, there’s only so much you can do. New sod can be laid, but there’s still a timetable for it to take hold. We have seen this issue for the Minnesota Twins when hosting concerts at Target Field.
With the Vikings now looking at their first kickoff of the season, Kevin O’Connell gets an added wrinkle to worry about. McCarthy missed the entire 2024 season after suffering a knee injury. This is the grass he gets to return on. Christian Darrisaw is also returning from a knee injury, and he already carries a questionable status.
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It’s a good thing that weather isn’t expected to play a factor for Monday Night Football. The Soldier Field grass often becomes a slop fest in rain or snow. Still, a lack of sod being completely filled in or adhered to the dirt below it is a problem.
This isn’t the look the NFL should want for their first Monday Night Football matchup of the season. It’s not a heartwarming one for O’Connell or the Vikings either.
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