NFL field director Ed Mangan expects to have a nearly finished product by Friday, ahead of the first Super Bowl rehearsal at SoFi Stadium.
INGLEWOOD — Ed Mangan’s 40 years of experience was made noticeable by the tranquil responses he delivered on Tuesday morning, as 20 people behind him painted the Super Bowl LVI logos on the field and dozens more in front of him cleaned the sticky floors and seats at SoFi Stadium. Mangan is the person in charge of making sure the field is prepared in time for the big game between the Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb.13, but he has a shorter turnaround than usual this year because the Rams defeated the San Francisco 49ers on the same field two days prior for the NFC championship game. For Mangan, the NFL’s field director, this was just the latest setback in the 33 Super Bowls he’s operated. Mangan was calm when reporters repeatedly asked him about preparing an artificial turf field in less than two weeks that will need to be safe for players and able to withstand an extravagant halftime show featuring musical acts Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar. “It’s a logistic adrenaline match, but we’ll get it done,” Mangan said. While the finished product of the field is scheduled to be ready for Feb.13, Mangan and his crew need to be close to completion by Friday because rehearsals for entertainment and media begin Saturday. “Rehearsals start and everybody needs a piece of this field and there’s only one,” Mangan said. “Between media, and TV, and pregame, halftime shows, postgame shows, awards ceremony. Everybody has to come out here and get a little piece of it to make sure their program is as good as everyone else’s.
