Chiefs re-sod field in preparation for AFC championship hosting duties
The most talked about player for the AFC championship game this weekend is the weather. First expected to be one of the coldest games in the books, it’s now going to be a little warmer — but still quite cold.
Kansas City is dutifully preparing to host its first AFC title game and that includes an unexpected re-sod to Arrowhead Stadium after last week’s snowy Saturday. The Kansas City Chiefs will host the New England Patriots at 6:40 p.m. ET.
Arrowhead has new sod for title game
Travis Hogan, head groundskeeper for the Chiefs at Arrowhead, shared an update late Thursday.
We weren’t planning on a resod this week, but Mother Nature had other plans. 10 inches of snow and all the snow in the stadium being hauled out on the sidelines changed things. My crew did an unbelievable job. They are the BEST! Everyone is tired but we are ready. Let’s Roll! pic.twitter.com/uoRZOAcEst
— Travis Hogan (@Twillhog75) January 18, 2019
Hogan tweeted the day before the divisional championship game that his team would spend about 36 consecutive hours removing snow to get the stadium ready for kickoff. It continued to snow throughout the victory against the Indianapolis Colts, resulting in 10 inches of snow when all was done.
Arctic blast subsides
Early this week the National Weather Service projected an “arctic blast” over Kansas City on Sunday. In a worst-case scenario the temperatures were projected at “well below zero.” The high was expected to be 10 degrees.
That blast shifted and temperatures are now projected by the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, to be a high of near 29 and a low of around 21 at night.
Leading up to the game there’s a mixture of weather Friday and Saturday. The forecast includes rain, freezing rain, snow, winds as high as 33 mph and dropping temperatures that include a -5 wind chill.
It would be far worse in New England, where the entire northeast is bracing for a long, heavy storm. Foxborough is projected to get eight inches of snow plus ice accumulation.
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