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In a shocking move and nearly two weeks into the 2015 season, the Houston Texans are finally moving away from their much maligned grass pallet system to artificial turf as the playing surface in NRG Stadium for the remainder of the 2015 season.
Rick Smith announces that the decision was made to change surface of NRG Stadium from natural grass trays to to turf. #Texans
— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) September 18, 2015
Texans executive VP/GM Rick Smith says team 2use Astroturf-type surface for remainder of season.Says has not performed properly this season
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 18, 2015
Turf will be installed for the team to play on for the remainder of 2015 season. #Texans
— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) September 18, 2015
"Our field has tested very well in the past," Smith says. Feels consistency in field surface was lacking this year which drove decision.
— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) September 18, 2015
Smith says the decision to switch to turf came after Week 1 opener vs. KC. #Texans
— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) September 18, 2015
Rick Smith on problems with field: Condition of trays,installation process the nursery. "We were not necessarily confident it would improve"
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 18, 2015
Smith also stated that while turf is for rest of 2015, they are looking for a better solution to the grass tray system for future. #Texans
— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) September 18, 2015
Texans exec VP/GM Rick Smith artificial surface to be used at NRG Stadium will be upgraded from 1 stadium uses for high school/college games
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 18, 2015
Perhaps this picture taken by a Texans fan last week says more than words do.
@battleredblog picture from last week I took from the KC end zone pic.twitter.com/ZFyMw66p4e
— AJ Hinch (@StannisAF) September 18, 2015
NRG Stadium's inconsistent field conditions have been blamed for several major injuries to the league's biggest stars in the past, most notably Von Miller, Wes Welker, and of course the team's very own first overall pick in 2014, Jadeveon Clowney. Perhaps now with artificial turf rather than pothole-covered grass, those devastating injuries might become less of a threat.
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