THE DEBATE OVER ARTIFICIAL TURF IS ALSO STIRRING UP THE U.S.
By Chandler Greenport
Just like in Brazil, the United States is facing a wide-ranging debate over whether or not to use synthetic turf for professional sports.
The spark that ignited the heated discussion in the land of Uncle Sam was the injury to Aaron Rodgers, a star in American football.
In a review limited to statistics, natural grass is much safer for athletes than synthetic turf, as shown by recent studies and a pioneering one from as early as the 1950s.
The Houston Astros were the first team to install artificial turf when they opened the Astrodome in 1965. And within just five years, more than a dozen other professional and college stadiums had fully adopted synthetic grass.
Former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle even said: "In five to ten years, any issue with holding championship games in cold-weather cities will be solved – we will have artificial turf on all of our fields by then."
And Pete Rozelle wasn't necessarily wrong.
Today, there are more than 8,000 artificial turf fields in the United States – and 16 of the NFL’s 32 teams have synthetic turf in their stadiums, including the New York Giants and Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, and Chargers, among others.
So, why do half of the NFL's 32 team owners insist on having artificial turf fields?
Well, the most obvious reason is money.
Artificial turf companies have long boasted how their product can save sports teams millions of dollars annually in maintenance.
These companies lure team owners with the promise that they can host other lucrative events in their billion-dollar stadiums, like concerts and basketball games.
This allows owners to eliminate seven to eight figures (in dollars!) in annual maintenance costs and creatively turn something usually seen as a liability into a money-making asset.
But just because it’s good for the owner’s wallet doesn’t mean it’s good for player safety.
NFL players have been complaining about artificial turf fields since the 1970s, and NFLPA President JC Tretter even wrote an open letter to the NFL last year saying, "Artificial turf is significantly harder on the body than natural grass."
Tretter cited an independent study that found players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf.
Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot or ankle injuries on turf compared to natural grass.
The Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals have already designed and installed retractable field systems. This allows them to move the field outside during the week to receive the necessary maintenance and sunlight, then bring it back inside approximately 24 hours before each game.
And if owners don't want to give up parking spaces, there’s even a solution for that. The new Real Madrid stadium has a fully retractable field that can be stored underneath the stadium at the push of a button.
The $250 million underground complex includes ventilation, air conditioning, irrigation systems, LED lighting, control cameras, and ultraviolet light therapy to maintain the field.
But most importantly, it proves that natural grass fields can be used in any environment.