Tulane Green Wave See Value of Field Investment as They Host Super Bowl Team
The Tulane Green Wave are preparing alongside the city of New Orleans to host Super Bowl LIX, with Tulane football providing a practice field for one of the contenders.
Jeff McLane of the Inquirer reported that the Philadelphia Eagles will practice at the New Orleans Saints practice facility, and the reigning champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, will head to the college football stadium uptown at Yulman.
It speaks to the value of the investments the Green Wave has put into the quality of the football facilities: the locker room and a field that allows for natural grass to be placed on it. Moreover, it bolsters the value of Yulman Stadium itself when looking at the last time the city hosted the Super Bowl in 2013.
That time, the San Francisco 49ers worked out at the Saints facility, while the Baltimore Ravens had to practice on a makeshift field on Tulane's Greer Field baseball diamond.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke of wind gusts up to 24 miles per hour inside the baseball diamond, whereas the 49ers had an indoor facility that simulated the Superdome conditions. However, they elected to remain at Tulane and keep their practice time consistent.
While Yulman Stadium still has the risk of wind, the football stadium is much more insulated in the way it's built compared to the baseball field that's nearly entirely exposed.
On the field, the wind often affects the kicking game with the gusts tending to stay higher than field level.
The Green Wave still have work to do on facilities with respect to football operations and an indoor facility. However, the NIL era of college football has demanded resources that may take priority. After winning the Cotton Bowl, the team did the critical work of fixing the locker room and replacing poor turf with a top-tier one made of coconut and cork boards.
While the Chiefs are planning to lay grass over the turf, the point remains that Tulane has now positioned itself to fully host a team preparing for the biggest stage of their career.
It connects the Green Wave football team with the city of New Orleans, assisting the goal of bringing local attention to the rising team under head coach Jon Sumrall.
Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com