 STEVEN CORDER APR 13, 2025 6:36 PM EDT When SMU Football hits the field on August 30 against East Texas A&M, it won’t just be the scoreboard catching fans’ eyes—it’ll be the ground beneath their cleats. Gerald J. Ford Stadium is trading in its synthetic turf for a natural grass surface, a decision rooted in both tradition and player safety. Artificial turf has long been criticized for contributing to non-contact injuries. A 2022 NFLPA report showed players are 32% more likely to suffer a non-contact knee injury on turf compared to grass. For SMU, fresh off an 11-3 season and a College Football Playoff appearance, keeping players healthy is a top priority. “Grass is easier on the joints, the knees, the ankles. This is for our players,” said one staffer familiar with the project. Read the article A school official from Massachusetts asked this question recently. They were given an estimate on the cost for their school to switch back to natural grass. The answer: A landscape architect says about $526,000 Cheaper than most synthetic turf replacements! See 1:39:41 in the recording below  Chapel Hill's Kenan Stadium will return to a natural grass field in 2025. By Mike Kadlick The North Carolina Tar Heels are making a significant change to their playing surface ahead of the 2025 season. In consultation with new head coach Bill Belichick, Chapel Hill's Kenan Stadium will return to a natural grass field in 2025, the UNC athletic department announced in a press release on Monday. They had been playing on a synthetic turf surface since 2020. "With our current turf reaching the end of its lifespan, the timing made sense to return Kenan Stadium to its natural grass roots," Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said in a statement. "Our staff takes great pride in maintaining a top-tier field that reflects the excellence of UNC Football, and we look forward to cheering on the team as it competes on a world-class natural grass surface next season."  Photo credit: Whole Hog Sports EXAMPLE: Arkansas Razorbacks The Razorbacks switched back to grass in 2019 after 10 years playing on synthetic. Two things to note -
July 21, 2019 by Matt Jones - Whole Hog Sports FAYETTEVILLE — Natural grass will return to the field at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium within a few weeks. The University of Arkansas football team will play home games on a natural surface this fall for the first time since 2008 — the team’s first season under then-head coach Bobby Petrino, who had artificial turf installed in 2009 at a cost of $1.1 million. *Petrino said the synthetic surface was needed to withstand the wear and tear of his practices. Petrino preferred to have most of his practices inside the stadium, and the grass field showed some signs of overuse by the end of 2008. Ten years after Petrino lobbied for a new field in his first season, another new Arkansas head coach, Chad Morris, said he preferred natural grass, citing his experience coaching Texas high school teams. The change could not be made in time for Morris’ inaugural season because construction to the stadium’s north side wasn’t completed until August. With a crane sitting inside the stadium, the turf was peeled back roughly 40 yards most of last year, then laid back down shortly before the 2018 season opener against Eastern Illinois. Arkansas began tearing out the turf field in April and expects to have real grass in the stadium by early August. The estimated cost to switch the field back to grass is $963,000. Read the full article You only have to go back to grass once. This costs not much more than a synthetic field replacement and less than a new synthetic field, which unlike grass needs repeated costly removal, disposal and replacement every 8-10 years on average. Summary and notes by Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc. |
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