City officials also fretted, because a winter storm was set to hit the Philadelphia area that weekend, with up to 12 inches of snow predicted.
The city of Philadelphia’s managing director, Joseph Martz, was tapped to find a quick, effective method of handling the dilemma. Martz contacted Elliott-Lewis, a leading mechanical contractor in the Philadelphia area, to devise a method for thawing the frozen turf and keeping the field dry for the playoff game.