When the Eagles and Chiefs take to the Caesars Superdome for Super Bowl 2025, they won’t be playing on natural grass. But how the tough turf is made, what happens to it after the big game, and the ongoing debate between natural and synthetic grass make for a super story.
The NFL’s big game gets a giant audience every year – around 80,000 spectators in the Superdome and more than 120 million viewers in more than 190 countries and territories.
Manufacturing Super Bowl Turf
The artificial turf for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans is made by Georgia-basedTurf Nation, and this will be the fifth time the company has supplied its super turf.
This particular artificial turf, the TN-S5 turf system, is engineered to have superior traction in wet and dry conditions. It’s made to be firm enough for running yet soft enough for player safety.
The 2.5+ acres of turf contain 115 million blades of “grass” which are each 2.5 inches tall. They’re made from polyethylene and surrounded by nearly 395 tons of shock-absorbing infill.
The backing system, which is arguably the most important aspect of synthetic turf (not unlike the root system for natural grass), is made up of a Titanium Shield. This shield is formed from three layers of material to ensure durability, grass blade retention, and stability of the surface.
Super Bowl Surface History by the Year
| Super Bowl | Year | Turf | Grass |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1967 | x | |
| 2 | 1968 | x | |
| 3 | 1969 | x | |
| 4 | 1970 | x | |
| 5 | 1971 | Poly turf | |
| 6 | 1972 | Poly turf | |
| 7 | 1973 | X | |
| 8 | 1974 | AstroTurf | |
| 9 | 1975 | AstroTurf | |
| 10 | 1976 | X | |
| 11 | 1977 | X | |
| 12 | 1978 | turf | |
| 13 | 1979 | X | |
| 14 | 1980 | x | |
| 15 | 1981 | turf | |
| 16 | 1982 | turf | |
| 17 | 1983 | x | |
| 18 | 1984 | x | |
| 19 | 1985 | x | |
| 20 | 1986 | turf | |
| 21 | 1987 | x | |
| 22 | 1988 | x | |
| 23 | 1989 | x | |
| 24 | 1990 | turf | |
| 25 | 1991 | x | |
| 26 | 1992 | turf | |
| 27 | 1993 | x | |
| 28 | 1994 | AstroTurf | |
| 29 | 1995 | x | |
| 30 | 1996 | x | |
| 31 | 1997 | turf | |
| 32 | 1998 | x | |
| 33 | 1999 | x | |
| 34 | 2000 | turf | |
| 35 | 2001 | x | |
| 36 | 2002 | turf | |
| 37 | 2003 | x | |
| 38 | 2004 | x | |
| 39 | 2005 | x | |
| 40 | 2006 | Field Turf | |
| 41 | 2007 | turf | |
| 42 | 2008 | x (retractable) | |
| 43 | 2009 | x | |
| 44 | 2010 | x | |
| 45 | 2011 | Matrixturf | |
| 46 | 2012 | Field turf | |
| 47 | 2013 | Sport turf | |
| 48 | 2014 | Field turf | |
| 49 | 2015 | x | |
| 50 | 2016 | x | |
| 51 | 2017 | Matrix Turf | |
| 52 | 2018 | Sport turf | |
| 53 | 2019 | Field turf | |
| 54 | 2020 | x | |
| 55 | 2021 | x (Tifway 419 Bermuda) | |
| 56 | 2022 | Matrix Turf | |
| 57 | 2023 | x (Tahoma 31 Bermuda) | |
| 58 | 2024 | x Bermuda hybrid | |
| 59 | 2025 | TN S5 | |
| TOTAL | 24 | 34 |
What Happens to the Grass After the Game?
It would be a shame to think that over 2 acres of turf would be torn out and trashed after being run around on for just a few hours.
Sure, that surface gets a good pounding from the 22 roughly 250-pound men pummeling it for four hours (not to mention the half-time show stages and props), but tough turf was made for that, right? After all, it has at least an 8-year lifespan.
So, what happens to the turf after the Super Bowl champions are crowned? At Caesars Superdome, the turf is replaced after every season and usually donated to a school or park for their sports fields.
Natural Turf is Preferred by Players
Even with hiccups like Super Bowl 2023’s slippery grass, natural turf is still popular among football teams and stadiums. Currently, NFL’s stadiums are split evenly between grass and artificial turf, and two use a hybrid version.
The jury is out on whether natural grass or artificial turf is better –– there’s a lot to consider. Maintenance, durability, injuries, and cost are only a few of the factors that go into making the decision. The NFL Players Association surveyed its players a year ago and found 92% prefer to play on Mother Nature’s grass.
At LawnStarter, we side with the players. You can’t beat walking on real, living grass whether it’s on a stadium with roughly 120 million people watching, or at home in your backyard in your bare feet. The feeling is, well, super.
Main Image Credits:
Background: dotshock / Canva Pro / License
Eagles Helmet: Sportscollectibles / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
KS Chiefs Helmet: Jefferson William / Flickr / Public Domain created using Canva Pro
