Scott Chan was angry when first told about the cancellation of the NFL’s Hall of Fame preseason game Sunday because the field was deemed unplayable.

“I told my brother to stop it, I’m tired of the ribbing,” said Aloha Stadium’s normally genial manager. “But then I found out it was true.”

If anything, Chan could empathize. It’s been a rough past several months.

The U.S. women’s soccer team pulled out the night before its game in December due to field conditions. In January, thousands of fans missed lots of the Pro Bowl because of traffic and stadium entry problems.

Who could blame the NFL for executing its opt-out and taking the game out of Hawaii, perhaps permanently?

Then there’s the political football concerning the future of the 41-year old facility. There’s still been no decision on where and when to build a replacement, or how large it should be.

The house is old, but at least there’s a new carpet.

Chan said the state replacing the old surface — which was still under warranty — was not because of the United States women’s soccer national team’s complaints, but it was done with the hope of enticing the NFL to not move the Pro Bowl.

The new turf was the star of the stadium’s media day Tuesday. Chan and staff also introduced some new toy equines that will be part of the fan-zone experience … and maybe distract the guests from the other hobbyhorses of complaining about things like long ticket lines and expensive food.

“I’m excited to get on this horse,” said Nick Rolovich — figuratively we think, but you can never be quite certain with the University of Hawaii’s energetic new football coach.

The new playing surface met with his approval. Of course, Rolo didn’t go Hope Solo and try to pull up a seam for the world to see on Twitter. When he played at Aloha Stadium it still had AstroTurf; compared to today’s fields, that was like green spray paint over cement.

“I’ve still got scars from it,” said Rolovich, who set records that remain standing as UH’s quarterback in 2001.

He likes that the “grass” component of the new turf is a little higher than the previous surface. “This is good. It’s going to be safer for our guys.”

Chan said it’s an improved version of the UBU-Speed Series S5-M that was installed in 2011 and was deemed dangerous by the U.S. women’s soccer team but OK by the NFL.

That soccer team played on the same surface a couple of weeks later — at the New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The only differences is it was in a dome, and less than a year old because the Saints get a new surface every season.

I was told by Alan Freeman, the stadium manager, that the year-old surface is sold or donated. This year it went to — you guessed it — Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, in Canton, Ohio, named after the Saints’ owner.

It’s probably just an interesting coincidence. The Packers and Colts complained about the middle of the field and end zones being hard and slippery because of a botched logo paint job, not the turf itself.

Apparently, it’s tough all over for stadium managers.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quickreads.