DENVER — The Broncos replaced their playing surface at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.  It is the first time since the stadium opened in 2001 that the entire playing surface was renovated.

The plans for the renovations began last year; now it’s almost complete. Peyton Manning and the Broncos will play on new sod this season. The new grass is being put in place and is the final step in a major makeover.

“It’s really exciting with this being such a long process. This is such an important place in the building and important for our fans,” said Zach Myhra, director of facilities for Stadium Management Company. “We’re excited to put a good product on the field.”

The upgrades started in February with removing the old field, which was a mix of natural grass and synthetic fibers.

“We wanted to make some changes to our field heating system, which is a foot below the field,” Myhra said. “To get to that we needed to remove the materials under the grass to make that change. It made sense to put a new field in.”

The new sod the Broncos are installing is 100 percent Kentucky bluegrass sod, grown by Graff’s Turf Farms in Fort Morgan.

“We have a great relationship with Graff’s,” Myhra said.  “The field here and at Dove Valley with the practice facility won’t be that much different for our players.”

The turf became worn early last season with the stadium hosting a soccer exhibition between Manchester United and AS Roma, the Rocky Mountain Showdown, state high school championship games and the Broncos games.

“With any field with use and wear it’ll show some aesthetic issues from time to time,” Myhra said.  “But with this new field, we feel like we’ll have a great season.”

When the Broncos are back on the field, they shouldn’t notice a big change.

“The surface itself is going to be consistent,” Myhra said.  “Our goal is the players won’t notice a difference from year-to-year.”

The Denver Outlaws will be the first team to test out the new field. Their home opener is on May 3 against the Charlotte Hounds.