2016 College Football Championship Field Is Getting a Makeover

— -- It's a week before the College Football National Championship game and the energy is relatively calm outside of the University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Banners for the Arizona Cardinals banners are being replaced by the crimson red of the University of Alabama and the orange and purple of Clemson University.

The television trucks, live TV sets and hospitality tents have yet to arrive and the police haven't started building detours and blocking traffic. However, inside the stadium, there's a team of close to 100 people working long hours to get the field ready for the game.

Fred Corsi is the director of operations at the University of Phoenix stadium and it’s his job to make sure the power is on and the stadium is ready for game day. It’s a job that is made harder with two bowl games and an Arizona Cardinals game being played in the stadium the week before the championship.

“When the Super Bowl comes in you have a month to get ready. This is five days, or six days, to get ready for the same sized event," he said.

To get ready for the game, the stadium is replacing the entire field with a brand new grass surface. Flatbed trucks are hauling in rolls of green grass that are being laid out on the field with fork lifts and set in place by hand. While the field continues to be laid into place, Corsi’s team begins wheeling in the field so it can be painted and protected from the approaching rain storm under the retractable dome.

The field at the University of Phoenix stadium is unlike any other in the world. While retractable roofs are common in stadiums, the University of Phoenix stadium is the only one with a retractable playing field powered by motors. To soak up the Arizona sun, the playing field lives on a retractable field tray that moves in and out of the stadium. It’s powered by 76 one-horse power motors, weighing 19 million pounds.

It’s a job they’ve done hundreds of times but is still a sight to see. The field moves at a snail’s pace, with a lead operator walking in front, monitoring the controls. As the field moves all the way in, the field team continues laying in the new playing surface before the field is painted.

After the game is played, Corsi and his team will get ready for a playoff game next week between the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers.

“It’s funny, you know you work so hard to get to a certain point, then there’s a kickoff for a game or a tip off for a basketball game, or whatever you’re doing, and it’s over," he said. "The next thing you know, the crowds are gone, the building is empty, and you’ve got a mess to clean up to get ready for the next event.”

Fortunately, they won’t need to replace the grass again until next season.