In 2015, the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium was renovated and modernized for a grand total of $350 million. And while the stadium now presents itself with a nice roof and additional video walls and luxury suites, one aspect is still as it has been ever since the stadium originally opened in 1987: The playing field is not always in perfect condition.
Today, as the Dolphins will host the New England Patriots, the surface seems to be in as bad a condition as it has ever been. Something Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is not too happy about, according to Jeff Howe:
Bill Belichick is pretty ticked off about the playing surface, roughly 18 hours after he was pretty ticked about the team plane.
Two days ago, the stadium hosted the Orange Bowl, which naturally left its mark on the field. It is not surprising that Belichick is “ticked off” about this, given that he once lost one of his most important players — wide receiver Wes Welker — to an ACL tear in a week 17 game also played on a questionable surface.
Hopefully, today will be different and the Patriots can head back to Foxboro as healthy as they arrived, albeit two hours late of schedule, in Miami.