Hi, my name's Jordan Achay.
I'm a groundskeeper in professional football.
Today, I'm going to guide you through the process
of deep cleaning and preparing an NFL field
for the Super Bowl.
I started groundskeeping for the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum in USC in 2016.
From there, I went on to SoFi Stadium in 2021.
When I found out the Super Bowl was coming to SoFi Stadium,
it was very exciting to know that I would have
the opportunity to be a part of such a big event.
When you're working in a higher-scale setting,
such as professional football,
there are a lot more fine details
that go into all the planning and the execution
when it comes to events and preparation
as well as cleanup.
The first step to preparing the field for the Super Bowl
is removing the paint from the previous game.
The machine that we use to clean the field
is called a P-Rex, and what it does is,
there are brushes with very strong bristles
in a circular shape that go down and scrub the paint off
after we spray down a solution.
We have somebody driving each and every one,
and there are a few out there on the field
after the game ends.
Once the paint is starting to break up and be liquid,
there's a vacuum that sucks the excess paint into a tank.
These machines have something that sprays the tires
in order to remove the paint from them
so there's no tracking, and that way
we don't get paint in spots that we don't want it.
When it's time to get new brushes and drain the tank,
then we drive into our wash station.
We start the cleaning process of the P-Rex.
So, right now we're removing the used brushes,
spraying them off to get all the paint off,
storing them off to the side so they can dry,
and putting a new brush onto each P-Rex
in order to send it back out and start cleaning again.
It's time to fill up the tanks with water
and the paint-removing solution.
We dump the tank that filters the rubber
out of the used paint,
and then from there we dispose of the paint.
So, the brushes on the P-Rex
go down onto the turf and spin,
as well as the operator drives the machine
back and forth in order to remove paint
from a certain area mixed with the solution.
I'd say the removal process can take
anywhere from two to four hours.
We just keep going
until we don't see any more paint on the field,
and it's good to go and ready for the next paint day.
Now that we've finished removing
all the paint from the field
and it's clear to go for the next paint day,
we can start the process of painting.
The process of painting for the Super Bowl
is different from any other game
because there is a whole other crew
that is also involved in the painting.
So, the preparation process for the Super Bowl
starts at least two weeks ahead of the actual game.
When painting for the Super Bowl, there are different logos
that we've never used before, new stencils.
So we have to map out where everything goes
and measure the spots for these specific stencils,
and that may be in a spot on the field
that has never been painted before.
So, while we paint these logos,
we want the lines and edges to be straight.
We have straight edges,
and we have flimsy boards that can be set
on specific spots in order to prevent the paint
from getting into a spot that it's not supposed to be in.
So, after we get done painting,
it's time to clean the equipment.
These boards we take to the back washroom,
and we use solution to get the paint off.
So, this paint board is caked in paint with multiple layers,
so we need to spray, scrape,
and use solution until we get it all off.
Paint does splatter, paint does get everywhere,
so we need to make sure the entire machine is clean.
Takes a little while in order to get all the paint off,
but once it's clean, it looks great and it's worth it.
So, it's important to clean the paint machines because, one,
you want to take care of the equipment that you use,
make sure that it can last as long
as you would like it to last.
You don't want paint buildup in certain areas
on the machine because then that can
start to limit the functionality of the machine.
Watching the confetti rain down on the field is surreal,
and I would not trade that feeling for the world,
until I realized that we were going to have to clean it up.
So, to clean this confetti up,
we're using as many blowers as we have
in order to bring all the confetti
to one side of the field in one area
so we can shovel it up and pour it in the trash can,
remove, and just keep doing it over
and over and over until it's all gone.
Once the confetti is cleaned up,
we use a machine called the LitterKat
to remove excess debris from the field.
The LitterKat is part of our daily maintenance,
but it is important to use it after the games as well
because there are a lot of pieces of debris
that get onto the field.
The first part of the machine
is going to suck up the lighter debris,
and the back end of the machine is a magnet
that will remove all the metal from the field.
When we're removing the debris out of the LitterKat,
we tend to find a lot of screws from players' helmets,
small pieces of metal, small pieces of plastic,
as well as sunflower-seed shells.
My favorite thing about being a groundskeeper
is the team aspect. I work with a lot of great people.
It's fun to be around them
and to work towards a common goal
of making sure a playing surface is working great
for something of such magnitude.
Being a part of the Super Bowl process
is something that I wouldn't trade for the world.
It was a surreal feeling,
and I'm excited to watch this year's Super Bowl.