Does State Farm Stadium Have Grass or Turf? | Easily Explained
State Farm Stadium has hosted some of the most important events in sports including Super Bowls and National Championship games.
In this page, we will explain whether or not State Farm Stadium has real grass, and if so, why they do, and how they do it.
Does State Farm Stadium Have Grass or Turf?
State Farm Stadium has a playing surface of real, natural grass, specifically the Tifway 419 Hybrid Bermuda grass.
Although the stadium is located in the desert, it is able to maintain natural grass by using a retractable field.
The Super Bowl field got some sun today 🔥
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) February 8, 2023
The roll-out process takes about an hour and is fully automated with the push of a button.pic.twitter.com/M1wKTMkrDf
Retractable Grass in State Farm Stadium
State Farm Stadium became the first stadium to have a retractable natural grass playing surface in North America, in 2006.
The roll-out system allows the field to easily be moved outside of the stadium, when the field needs to be maintained (or moved for other events).
The natural grass field is also rolled outside when other non-football related events such as Monster Jam take place indoors.
This allows the field to remain protected, while allowing the stadium to hold other major events throughout the year.
The roll out process takes about 1 hour in total to be completed.
Nope - it literally goes outside for some sun 🤣 pic.twitter.com/DeSuL58rYa
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) February 8, 2023
Fields Contain Their Own Maintenance System
Although the natural grass field is able to receive water naturally when it is moved outside, it would be foolish to only rely on that in a desert environment.
For this reason, the field also has its own irrigation and drainage system, which are the main reasons why the field is able to be kept in pristine condition.
WHY DO SOME TEAMS PREFER GRASS FIELDS?
Over the last few years, there have been many players who have voiced their support for grass fields over turf fields.
The reason for this mainly comes down to injuries, as many professional players have been injured on turf fields.
Turf fields are generally much harder on the body to land on, and also very easy to get turf burn from.
Although grass fields are more favored by players, they're also more difficult to maintain throughout an entire season of use along with the different changes in weather.
However, Allegiant Stadium is one of the few stadiums in the world that has been able to solve this issue with a fully-functioning retractable field.