The Raiders and Packers were forced to play a preseason game on an 80-yard field that left players, teams, and bettors in Las Vegas confused

NFL Network

The Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers were forced to play their preseason game on a shortened, 80-yard field on Thursday night in Winnipeg.
The odd venue was reportedly chosen because the game was scheduled before the Raiders secured the Oakland Coliseum as their home stadium for the season.
In Las Vegas, the shortened field left some fans confused as to whether or not their bets should still count — but tickets went off as written.
Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers were forced to play their preseason game on a shortened, 80-yard field on Thursday night in Winnipeg.

The problems with the field stemmed from holes in the end zones of IG Field, where the goalposts for the Canadian Football League’s bigger field would typically be placed. After several conversations between team officials and referees, the decision was made to play the game on a shortened field to avoid potential injuries that the hole could cause.

Video showing officials examining the hole make it clear why the decision needed to be made.

The game was in Winnipeg because it was scheduled before the Raiders had found a home.

According to ESPN, the game was being played in Winnipeg because of the Raiders struggles to secure a home stadium heading into the 2019 NFL season.

The Raiders eventually agreed to spend another year at the Oakland Coliseum. However, their lease was not in place when the NFL scheduled preseason games, and the Oakland Athletics had a game scheduled on that day in the Coliseum. The Raiders were left to find a new location to host, and settled on IG Field, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Despite the shortened field, head coach Jon Gruden seemed pleased with the proceedings, and his team’s 22-21 victory.

"I’m not going to make a big deal about the field. We liked the field," Gruden said, per ESPN. "We thought the field was perfectly ready to roll. You’ll have to ask G.B. about that. Didn’t affect our playcalling or our evaluations. We just adapted as they did to the new dimensions of the field."

For those gambling on the game, the late changes caused a bit of confusion.

Others were far more frustrated with short-notice changes, most notably bettors who might have placed a bet on the Packers or the under in the game. While they had been expected to play some starters, Green Bay made something of a statement by holding 33 players out of the game entirely. Between that and the field being 20 yards shorter than expected, some bettors might have thought there was some recourse. But Jay Kornegay, VP of Race and Sports Operations at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, told Business Insider that tickets would go off as written.

"We don’t have a disclaimer for field size," Kornegay told Business Insider via text. "Action."

Kornegay expanded on his thoughts on the matter on Twitter.

Kornegay added that action on the game was "minor," far from shocking news given that it’s still the preseason.

Those who bet the game were treated to a nail-biter, and if you let the late-breaking news guide your action, you made out particularly well. The game went just over the total of 40 points, and the Raiders scraped out the victory.

While it was far from an ideal situation for the teams, the quirky adjustments serve as a good reminder for bettors — barring a cancellation, your ticket is usually a live bet.

USWNT superstar Carli Lloyd hit a 55-yard field goal at Eagles training camp and now some want her to get a real shot in the NFL

Bill Belichick gave a hilariously blunt interview with his thoughts on the return of wide receiver Josh Gordon

Aaron Rodgers offered Lamar Jackson some simple advice after the Ravens quarterback scored an incredible rushing touchdown

FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS: Here’s the expert consensus on the top 50 players

NOW WATCH: Statistics tell us today’s NBA teams would beat the 1996 Bulls