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A long-running drainage issue has forced the New Orleans Saints to replace their outdoor grass fields at the team headquarters in Metairie, coach Sean Payton said Friday.

Bulldozers and backhoes arrived this week and have already turned one of the 100-yard fields into dirt.

The new fields won't be ready until the spring, meaning the Saints will practice indoors for the rest of their games.

The Saints have two outdoor games left in the regular season, including a trip to Chicago next week.

The drainage issue had rendered the field unplayable because the excess moisture caused a fungus to develop, Payton said. That's why the Saints have practiced almost exclusively indoors since the end of training camp.

"We would have been outside probably at least half a dozen times," Payton said. "The problem was, as nice as it looked, literally as you planted (your foot), there was no root system at all."

Payton said the field was due for a renovation, as drains naturally clog over time.

"It's got a layer of grass, then sand and the drainage system. After X amount of years, what happens is those drains begin to get filled and ours is at that point where it needed to be redone," he said. "We're completely digging it all up and putting in a new system. It's been on the to-do list for the last couple years."

Payton said the turf had been outstanding over the years and he expects the new fields to be ready for mini-camp and other activities in the spring and summer.

In addition to the 100-yard indoor facility, the Saints also have an outdoor turf field designed to Arena Football standards that is used by punters and kickers.

New Orleans Saints tearing up grass fields to fix drainage issue | NOLA.com

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