Bears have no plans to install artificial turf at Soldier Field

The grass at Soldier Field looks more like faint green dirt come mid-November, but the Chicago Bears don't seem to mind. 

Luca Serra, a spokesman for the facility, told the Chicago Tribune the team doesn't plan on switching to artificial turf anytime soon. 

“We’re always open to that conversation with the Bears,” Serra said. “Based on recent conversations, there really hasn’t been much movement in the way of switching in the imminent future. For the Bears, it’s a health and wellness issue for the players. Right now, they still really believe, based on the data they have, that they prefer to play on the natural-turf field."

The difficulty in maintaining natural grass in a cold-weather city like Chicago, Green Bay or Pittsburgh isn't easy, but the benefits to players' health outweigh the need for a better surface to some. 

As good as artificial turf is these days in regards to mimicking actual grass, the pounding a player's body takes on that surface will still have some teams shying away from it. Then again, a sloppy grass field in December doesn't exactly lend itself to keeping players safe either.