TURF WARS—THE BUSINESS DECISIONS BEHIND NFL FIELD SURFACE CHOICES
Compiled by Suz Trusty
In September of 2024,
Sportico.com, which bills itself as “Te Leading Source for Sports Business News,” issued a five-article “Turf Wars” series, examining the business decisions behind choosing natural grass or artificial turf for a National Football League (NFL) stadium. Te article below is a compilation of key business-related points taken from those articles. To find the complete set of articles, starting with the first one posted, go to the link that follows. NFL Grass vs. Turf Debate Divides Players, Owners. Is a Solution Near? (
https://www.sportico.com/ leagues/football/2024/nfl-natural-grass-artificial-turf- owners-players-solutions-1234795441/)
As the first article reported, “Te NFL built the world’s most valuable sports league largely via forced uniformity. Teams share most revenue evenly, they sell all their media rights as a single entity, and every franchise adheres to the same hard salary cap. It’s unlike any other major U.S. league.
“And yet NFL franchises differ significantly in their approach to one of the sport’s most elemental necessities— the playing surface itself. About half the league’s teams play on natural grass, different strains grown in different parts of the country. Te other half plays on artificial turf, different types made by different companies around the world.”
“A longtime point of contention between players and owners, the issue has come to a head in recent years. Players overwhelmingly prefer grass—92 percent of them, according to the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Te athletes say it’s easier on their bodies and believe it leads to fewer serious injuries.” Te looming 2026 men’s World Cup, where 11 NFL venues will all install grass fields, threatens to further stoke the debate.
Owners have their own motivations. Obviously, they analyze the costs related to installation, maintenance, and replacement of the field surface to withstand play throughout the NFL season. But there’s more “…the rush of non-NFL events at stadiums contributes tens of millions to some franchises’ bottom lines.”
Currently, the league’s Field Surface Safety & Performance Committee, comprised of representatives from the NFL, NFLPA, and outside experts, is working to create some consistency (uniformity) across the league’s many different playing surfaces. Te six-person group, formed in 2016, is trying to “give us the best possible product for our athletes
and our fans come game day,” according to Nick Pappas, the NFL’s field director. Te challenge, according to Pappas, is NFL athletes are unique—some of the biggest, fastest, strongest in the world—so FIFA’s or World Rugby’s standards don’t work. “We need to start from ground zero.” Pappas expresses willingness to work with sod farmers and artificial turf manufacturers “within the framework of an NFL standard.” After examining multiple approaches teams are taking to maximize their multimillion-dollar field investments, article two concluded with “it is clear that NFL franchises will likely differ in their surfaces for a while.”
“2024 brings a new dynamic to the Turf Wars debate in NFL stadiums: the possibility of a state banning turf in NFL stadiums and thus taking the choice of playing surface away from NFL teams.” Te NFLPA has described synthetic turf as an unsafe working condition. But what has traditionally been a health and safety debate, often between the NFL and NFLPA, is gradually morphing into a legal one. For example, the Ohio legislature is considering House Bill (H.B.) 605 which, if it becomes law, would require that the playing surface of all professional sporting stadiums in Ohio be composed of not less than 90 percent natural grass.
Nationally, “the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) is charged with ensuring U.S. employees are ‘free from recognized hazards’ that can cause ‘serious physical harm’ in their workplaces. Such a mission suggests OSHA could potentially weigh in on playing surfaces and perhaps find synthetic turf is unsafe.”
For now, surface variability between locations remains a key problem. “Until a true technological breakthrough changes the game, movement in today's Turf War equilibrium is more likely to come from barristers, boardrooms, or bargaining tables.”
When the 2024 NFL season kicked off, “players' cleats dug into 15 artificial turf surfaces and 15 grass fields (including one with some plastic sewn in).” Don't adjust your TV sets if the grass appears greener elsewhere. Artificial turf will remain a factor, as it has for a half-century now. Meanwhile, grass just keeps on evolving. Stay tuned; these Turf Wars are sure to continue.
Suz Trusty is co-editor of Turf News.
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TPI Turf News November/December 2024
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