The turf at U.S. Bank Stadium is being replaced

The Minnesota Vikings have played just three seasons at U.S. Bank Stadium, but apparently it’s already time for a new playing surface at the NFL’s best facility.

The Associated Press is reporting that the team is now taking bids for the replacement of the 100,000 square foot playing surface. The plan is to have a bid accepted by March, with installation to begin in May, meaning that everything will be in place well in advance of the Vikings’ 2019 season.

The replacement will be paid for from an account that is already funded by the team and the stadium authority that goes towards the upkeep of the stadium.

I’m not entirely sure what, if anything, this means for the playing surface, although I wouldn’t think there would be any significant difference. I’m unsure if there are different varieties of the field turf that everyone with an indoor stadium (and a lot with outdoor stadiums) uses now. We can be assured that it won’t be that awful Brady Bunch-style astroturf from the early days of the Metrodome or anything, which is a positive.

If any of you out there do have a bit more knowledge on this sort of thing, feel free to share it in the comments below.