Sunday night’s Hall of Fame Game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts has been canceled because of field conditions at Tom Benson Stadium. The Packers and Colts would be the only team using the field in Canton for it was planned to be replaced immediately because of more stadium renovation work in the coming year. Most noticeable were bare spots around midfield. The field was cleared of both teams at about 6:30 p.m. with indications being it would be a long shot for the game to be played. But the rubber pellets embedded in the field turf did not have enough time to recover were easily seen through the synthetic green grass.
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The teams arrived at the stadium to find that the field was in awful shape after Saturday night’s induction ceremony.
The Hall of Fame Game matchup was announced in February, so it seems like this rush-job could’ve been avoided. Fans were allowed to enter the stadium after a delay, but were not told about the cancellation of the game until Baker addressed them at 8 p.m, almost 75 minutes after the players were told.
The NFL preseason will begin later than anticipated after poor field conditions resulted in the cancellation of the 2016 Hall of Fame Game. The grounds crew unfortunately used the wrong paint around the midfield and the endzone in the afternoon.
Rather, it would have been, if bad turf conditions in Canton didn’t force the National Football League to cancel the Hall of Fame Game preseason opener between the Colts and Packers. And all many of them got in return was lost money in travel expenses.
“We’re really disappointed”, a Packers fan said.
It’s ridiculous, naturally, to think that an National Football League event – preseason or otherwise – was scuttled by something as dumb as congealed field paint. “But.as owners, we’ll have to get it right so it never happens again”. “Then there was some painting that occurred”. “Here at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we have the greatest respect for players and for player safety”.
The Hall of Fame Game was last cancelled in 2011, a victim of the collective bargaining negotiations during the lockout.
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But while NFL fans were undoubtedly pissy about having to wait another four days to watch scintillating preseason football, fans in attendance in Canton were livid. A recent Tim McGraw concert and the induction ceremony on Saturday night that put thousands of chairs onto the playing surface come to mind.
