NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Nissan Stadium will make the transition from natural grass to synthetic turf ahead of the 2023 NFL season, according to an announcement made on Tuesday.
The Tennessee Titans revealed the transition on Tuesday, stating that the natural grass surface has been at the stadium since its opening in 1999.
According to the Titans, the team sought solutions after the natural grass surface became difficult to grow and maintain due to Nashville’s location in a transition climate zone.
Data provided by the NFL reportedly showed more lower body injuries occurred on Nissan Stadium’s grass over the past several seasons, making the stadium one of the leaders in lower body injuries across the league.
“There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our players,” said Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. “We’ve had a lot of issues (with the grass at Nissan Stadium) after a certain part of the season. It’s hard to grow grass. It gets slick. We put new turf down, we try and put new sod down and it’s slick, you see guys slipping. Those are real things that I’ve witnessed over my time here.”
The team announced the new surface will be a monofilament, Matrix Helix surface that combines the durability of field turf while still maintaining the feel of a grass surface.
Officials say the turf’s fibers have a corkscrew shape that creates an appearance similar to natural grass that allows the turf to spring back into place after impact.
In a release, the Titans said the Matrix Helix surface was installed in its indoor practice facility last year and received positive responses from the players.
“We added this product inside the Bubble and the response has been very positive, very favorable to that surface to the new technology that continues to come out,” Vrabel said. “Just witnessing our practices inside and how they feel and how they respond on that product.… we’re excited to be able to add this product to our stadium.”
Work to install the new turf on Nissan Stadium’s field is underway and is expected to be completed in time for the 2023 season.