Photo: Commanders’ Field Damaged Due to Irrigation Malfunction Before Giants Game

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 15, 2024

Greg Fiume/Getty Images

The Washington Commanders are having issues at Northwest Stadium yet again.

On Sunday, the field had three giant brown spots due to issues with irrigation heads ahead of the matchup between the Commanders and New York Giants, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post:

Nicki Jhabvala @NickiJhabvalaThere are three brown spots on the field at Northwest Stadium. A Commanders spokesperson said three irrigation heads recently malfunctioned and required repair, altering the aesthetics of field in those areas. pic.twitter.com/rP5Qx06hPH

Back in 2022, a number of fans were injured at Northwest Field—at the time known as FedEx Field—after a railing broke following a matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

A year prior, fans were doused with water in their seats after a pipe broke in the stadium. Fans thought the leakage was sewage, but the team said it was in fact rainwater.

Darren M. Haynes @DarrenMHaynes”It’s sewage”

according to these Washington Football fans at FedEx Field @wusa9 #WashingtonFootball
(🎥I/G tommyob5) pic.twitter.com/iCYNQOzosF

“The leak came from a storage tank filled with rainwater,” a team spokesperson told ESPN’s John Keim at the time. “We gave the fans in the section the option to move to a suite for the rest of the game, and we’re going to give them tickets to a game of their choice in the future. They were also given Washington Football Team gear.”

In a 2023 article, The Athletic’s writers voted Washington’s home digs as the worst stadium in the NFL, with Ben Standig describing it as “old but not revered.”

The Commanders did announce a $40 million investment into the stadium in Aug. 2023, however, focused on “three new themed suites, new ticket scanning pedestals, point of sale upgrades, and updated Commanders branded imagery around the stadium, as well as maintenance repairs to the bowl and paint around the stadium.”