Poor field conditions a concern ahead of Hall of Fame game

ByRob Demovsky and Mike Wells ESPN logo
Monday, August 8, 2016

CANTON, Ohio - There was concern about the condition of the field for the annual Hall of Fame game on Sunday night.

Multiple sources told ESPN.com that both the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts were worried about player safety as crews worked feverishly on the area around the midfield logo at Tom Benson Stadium.

One Packers player described it as "like cement" at midfield, where workers spent more than an hour trying to make it playable.

"The end zones are just as bad," the same player said about 90 minutes before the scheduled 8 p.m. ET kickoff. "And they haven't even started working on those yet."

Multiple sources said the problem was with the paint.

"The paint on the logo won't allow a cleat to penetrate it," a Colts source said. "A definite hazard to player safety. They are trying to rectify it, but it doesn't look good."

Packers coach Mike McCarthy and Colts coach Chuck Pagano both watched as crews tried to rectify the problem. David Baker, the president of the Hall of Fame, was meeting with representatives of both teams.

This is not the same surface used in last year's Hall of Fame game, when Steelers kicker Shaun Suishman sustained a season-ending injury.