Record-Breaking Crowd On Hand For Rugby Game At Soldier Field

Yesterday's New Zealand-USA rugby game at Soldier Field was played before a sellout crowd of 61,500, "the largest to witness" the sport in the U.S., "far eclipsing a 20,181 crowd" at a '13 U.S. game against Ireland in Houston. Yesterday's game "celebrated both community and an emerging sport that returns to the Olympics" in '16 after a more than 90-year absence (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/2).

Meanwhile, the grass field at Soldier Field was scheduled to be "re-sodded" following the match in time for the Bears' next home game against the Vikings on Nov. 16. This "will be the third re-sodding of Soldier Field’s playing surface since August." SMG's ‎Dir of Sponsorship & Media at Soldier Field Luca Serra said that the re-sodding will cost "$250,000 for an entire replacement" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/1).