The contest between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts was cancelled after team and league officials decided the playing surface at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio, was unplayable.
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame organization will give fans who bought tickets full refunds by August 31st.
“We heard their concerns”, Baker said in an interview on ESPN, via the Green Bay Press Gazette.
What happened to the fans at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium over the next 80 minutes was no accident.
According to another source, the problem was made worse when workers tried to use heat to dry the excess paint, as that melted the rubber pellets in the field turf. And for those who paid with cash, the Hall of Fame has provided a three-step process for expediting the refund.
In a joint statement, the NFL and NFL Players Association said that while they were “disappointed for our fans”, player safety “is our primary concern”. “Those types of games, you don’t want to miss reps, especially in game-type situations”, said New York Giants safety Cooper Taylor, himself a roster-bubble player. Plans call for the new stadium to be completely finished before next year’s Hall of Fame game, and to include all new turf and signage.
A Green Bay Packers player is quoted as saying the field is “like cement”.
“In some respects it’s a hard decision”, he added, “but it’s an easy ethical decision”. In 2011, the Hall of Fame Game wasn’t played due to the lockout.
Something did happen on that same field previous year, to Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham.
There would have surely been a higher than normal number of injuries had they played last night (which would have raised interesting liability issues for the National Football League for not providing a safe playing environment). In fact, the Packers had exhibition games in Canton cancelled in 2003 and 1980 due to lightning.
Despite the folly on Sunday, the National Football League has no plans to move the Hall of Fame game from Canton, Ohio. Rather than playing the scheduled game, players from both teams participated in a “fan-fest” and signed autographs for fans amongst various activities. “As a result of some painting on the field today, some questions arose”.
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That said, the National Football League plans to keep the exhibition opener in Canton following the Hall of Fame inductions for the foreseeable future and the rest of the 2016 preseason will continue on as planned. “You get exhausted of practicing against yourself and you get to play a real game”.
