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Turf time: Which stadiums have the best and worst fields in the NFL?
BY TIM NEWCOMB|Sports Illustrated
BY TIM NEWCOMB|Sports Illustrated
Natural grass versus artificial turf. Cold-weather grass versus warm-weather varieties. There’s plenty to debate within the NFL's various playing surfaces, and there are also plenty of complaints to go around. In this ranking of the NFL playing surfaces, we acknowledge the debates. We acknowledge the differences. And we recognize the intricacies involved in preparing NFL fields every week.
“The bottom line is they all meet the NFL’s certification program every week,” Andy McNitt, Penn State University’s director of its Center for Sports Surface Research and the man in charge of testing NFL fields, tells SI.com. “All of our fields today versus 10 years ago are way better. The fields are in much better shape across the board.”
McNitt, who holds a Ph.D. in soil science from Penn State and is a member of the Sports Turf Managers Association, oversees the hardness testing every week. That process includes using a Clegg Gmax 2.25-kilogram hammer to drop weight from a given height to measure how quickly the weight stops on impact. Using the instrument, NFL fields must fall under a 100 score everywhere on the field. If one doesn't, remediation must happen before a game can be played. Most fields range in the 80s, with the occasional test in the 70s or 90s. Natural-grass fields can soften into the 60s following rain.
The fields, though, aren’t just tested for hardness. The NFL checks seams and infill depth, and even runs a magnet across the field to make sure there’s no loose metal, such as a bolt from a concert stage.
We aren't the first people to rank the fields in the NFL. Every season, the NFLPA polls players about the surfaces on which they play. But McNitt brings up a valid point about past player rankings, noting that players don’t play on every field every year, and they play on fields in vastly different conditions. And some players rank on aesthetics or location, not so much the field itself. That’s why SI went deeper, using past player rankings, insight from current players and details from groundskeepers to better understand the fields and formulate our rankings.
While players uniformly prefer natural grass over artificial turf, the warm-weather variety of Bermuda grass has a higher durability and quicker recovery time than a cool-weather variety such as Kentucky bluegrass, helping Bermuda perform better over the course of an entire season. And natural grass is wonderful until owners don’t spend the money to keep it pristine—it will cost about $100,000 to $125,000 for a full re-sod of a field, often needed in cold-weather environments.
Let’s start the rankings:
1. Arizona Cardinals: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
27. St. Louis Rams: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Mo.
This new fully indoor stadium won’t open in the NFL until next year. When it does, it will offer an infill artificial field.
Tim Newcomb covers stadiums, sneakers and design for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.
“The bottom line is they all meet the NFL’s certification program every week,” Andy McNitt, Penn State University’s director of its Center for Sports Surface Research and the man in charge of testing NFL fields, tells SI.com. “All of our fields today versus 10 years ago are way better. The fields are in much better shape across the board.”
McNitt, who holds a Ph.D. in soil science from Penn State and is a member of the Sports Turf Managers Association, oversees the hardness testing every week. That process includes using a Clegg Gmax 2.25-kilogram hammer to drop weight from a given height to measure how quickly the weight stops on impact. Using the instrument, NFL fields must fall under a 100 score everywhere on the field. If one doesn't, remediation must happen before a game can be played. Most fields range in the 80s, with the occasional test in the 70s or 90s. Natural-grass fields can soften into the 60s following rain.
The fields, though, aren’t just tested for hardness. The NFL checks seams and infill depth, and even runs a magnet across the field to make sure there’s no loose metal, such as a bolt from a concert stage.
We aren't the first people to rank the fields in the NFL. Every season, the NFLPA polls players about the surfaces on which they play. But McNitt brings up a valid point about past player rankings, noting that players don’t play on every field every year, and they play on fields in vastly different conditions. And some players rank on aesthetics or location, not so much the field itself. That’s why SI went deeper, using past player rankings, insight from current players and details from groundskeepers to better understand the fields and formulate our rankings.
While players uniformly prefer natural grass over artificial turf, the warm-weather variety of Bermuda grass has a higher durability and quicker recovery time than a cool-weather variety such as Kentucky bluegrass, helping Bermuda perform better over the course of an entire season. And natural grass is wonderful until owners don’t spend the money to keep it pristine—it will cost about $100,000 to $125,000 for a full re-sod of a field, often needed in cold-weather environments.
Let’s start the rankings:
1. Arizona Cardinals: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
You’ll hear very little argument about who holds the top spot for the best field in the NFL. Sure, Arizona has plenty of sunshine and can grow a healthy amount of Tifway 419 Bermuda grass, but more importantly, the Cardinals have the pleasure of rolling the field outside the stadium. The entire playing surface is retractable, in one giant tray, allowing the turf to grow and get maintained outside the stadium, coming inside only for NFL football games. And with a groundskeeping staff doing a stellar job with the turf, Arizona earns the top spot.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
There are not many NFL fields on the east side of the country that are nicer than the Tifway 419 Bermuda grass that covers Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Well, unless you’re Aaron Rodgers. The turf in Tampa has proven popular for years, but late last season Rodgers complained about the softness of the sod. His complaints aside, Tampa's field still deserves one of the top spots on this list.
3. Miami Dolphins: Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Finally the pristine Tifway 419 Bermuda grass in Miami has a sparkling new seating bowl to go with it. Long considered one of the top fields in the NFL, the Miami climate allows the Bermuda warm-weather grass to flourish with plenty of sunshine and a long growing season needed for quick recovery.
...27. St. Louis Rams: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Mo.
The old AstroTurf certainly offered a completely new way of doing turf in stadiums, but it was a way that was abandoned for its lack of give and subpar cushioning. The Rams were once the only NFL team still using the AstoTurf brand, but not the old stuff, having installed the company’s GameDay Grass 3D system, a rubber infill system similar to the others across the league.
28. Chicago Bears: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.
The Kentucky Bluegrass in Chicago doesn’t have the ownership backing it needs to keep the cool-season grass replenished all season long. The lack of commitment can render this field tough for NFL players late in the season, a constant point of contention year after year. Kicker Robbie Gould even complained about his own team's field during a radio interview in 2012, saying it had sunk to new lows.
29. Buffalo Bills: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
The only field using the A-Turf Titan infill artificial system hasn’t gotten a good rap around the league. It is tough to tell if the cold weather in Buffalo has put a difficult spin on the Ralph Wilson Stadium turf or if this style of artificial turf just doesn’t have the same comfort level as the rest of the league.
30. Houston Texans: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Houston has two things that should boost this field way up the list: natural grass and warm-weather Bermuda. But where this Tifway 419 Bermuda falters is in its foundation. This heavily used stadium was built with a removable field. All the natural grass—the stadium has three fields—lives in trays outside behind the old Astrodome and gets brought in and assembled for NFL games. That assembly, though, can create seems and uneven footing between the trays, allegedly leading to major injuries for Jadeveon Clowney, Wes Welker and more. The eight-foot by eight-foot tray system has gotten so bad that the Texans announced in September it switched to an artificial system—they also have a movable AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D system—for the rest of the regular season and will then revisit the turf issue at the end of the season. But even a tray system of artificial turf doesn’t solve all the problems in Houston.
NR: Minnesota Vikings: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.
This new fully indoor stadium won’t open in the NFL until next year. When it does, it will offer an infill artificial field.
Tim Newcomb covers stadiums, sneakers and design for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.
