MetLife Stadium has an artificial turf that was deployed in May 2023. The new and improved synthetic turf is known FieldTurf Core system.
The stadium hosted its first NFL game on September 12, 2010. The New York Giants hosted the Carolina Panthers in a regular season match, which ended in the hosts’ favor 31-18.
The football venue was built for around $1.6 billion and replaced Giants Stadium as the home ground for the Jets and the Giants.
Located in New Jersey’s East Rutherford, 82,500 people can get on their seats for a football game at once. It is the NFL stadium with the highest capacity. An additional 200+ suites with 16-24 seats per suite and 10K+ club seating capacity are present.
The 2023 campaign has started well for the location as it registered its highest crowd toll of 83,345 spectators for the Bills at the Jets game.
The contest went overtime with a regulation time score of 16-16. Xavier Gipson made a 65-yard punt return to help the Jets emerge victorious in their season opener.
But their newly acquired Quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, went down after four snaps. The torn Achilles has him sidelined for the rest of 2023.
MetLife Stadium Turf Or Grass
MetLife Stadium has always had synthetic turf on its playing field. Since the time it was known as New Meadowlands Stadium, it never had natural grass.
The present-day name was coined in 2011, thanks to the $400 million 25-year naming rights deal.
No matter the change in name or turn of the decade, the venue has always prioritized artificial grass over natural grass.
The latest dual-polymer monofilament fiber contains heavyweight infills that are claimed to decrease the injury rate compared to its predecessors. It is reported to have undergone over 200K test cycles at Penn State’s Center for Sports Surface Research.
Other venues that accompany the artificial turf include:
- Mercedes-Benz: Atlanta Falcons
- Highmark: Buffalo Bills
- Bank of America: Carolina Panthers
- Paycor: Cincinnati Bengals
- AT&T: Dallas Cowboys
- Ford Field: Detroit Lions
- NRG: Houston Texans
- Lucas Oil: Indianapolis Colts
- SoFi: Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers
- Caesars Superdome: New Orleans Saints
- Lumen Field: Seattle Seahawks
MetLife Stadium Turf Injuries Concern
MetLife Stadium turf injuries added New York Jets Quarterback Aaron Rodgers as its latest victim. Rodgers suffered a Torn Achilles injury.
The Jets’ debut for the QB against the Buffalo Bills on 11th September was spoiled after just four snaps. The sack from linebacker Leonard Floyd saw Rodgers land awkwardly on his left leg.
This is the closest look at Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles injury. I’m gutted for him.
🎥: @ACLrecoveryCLUB pic.twitter.com/FbrkkmDw8v https://t.co/Xlm6u6rTyj
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 12, 2023
The tear in the left Achilles tendon has ruled out the 39-year-old veteran for the rest of the season.
After the incident, many players showed their frustration. Rodgers’ longtime playmate and Jets Wide Receiver Randall Cobb was most vocal.
Cobb said, “We wanted the NFL to protect the players with grass fields, but the NFL is more worried about making money. Profit over people, it’s always been the case. I’ve never been a fan of turf. That’s my stance.”
Running back Breece Hall said, “Grass. That’s my answer. We want grass.”
Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson is also against the synthetic one. His response stated that “the grass is very forgiving. Your strides, anything accidental, the grass will give. Turf doesn’t give, so it just goes back into your body, and bad things happen.”
This is not the first time a footballer has fallen to an injury at the stadium.
The MetLife Stadium Victims
The week two game of the 2020 season, played between the Jets and San Francisco 49ers on September 20, had multiple casualties.
Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas suffered season-ending knee injuries. Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a right ankle sprain and missed the next match. Raheem Mostert also missed the Week 3 match due to a sprained MCL.
A long list of players and their injuries suffered while playing at East Rutherford, New Jersey, is given below:
- Antonio Cromartie: Hip injury in 2013
- Vladimir Ducasse: Ankle injury in 2013
- Tevin Coleman: Sprained knee in 2020
- Dre Greenlaw: Thigh contusion in 2020
- Zach Banner: Knee injury in 2020
- KJ Hamler: Hamstring injury in 2020
- Lawrence Cager: Hamstring injury in 2020
- Blessuan Austin: Calf injury in 2020
- Elijah Moore: Quad injury in 2021
- James Robinson: Achilles tear in 2021
- Michael Carter: High-ankle sprain in 2021
- Kyle Fuller: Knee injury in 2022
- Dawuane Smoot: Achilles tear in 2022
- Sterling Shepard: Torn Achilles and an ACL tear in 2022
- Blake Martinez: Torn ACL in 2022
Turf Changes History At MetLife
MetLife Stadium turf change can be traced back to 2013 when they got the new FieldTurf. Since its construction in 2010, synthetic grass has covered the ground.
The stadium was previously known as the New Meadowlands Stadium in 2010 and 2011. The artificial premium system on the location saw team owners, FieldTurf representatives, and the Jets and Giants fans participate in spreading the infills in December 2009.
Other features on the surface were removable end zone and midfield markings.
The 2013 change saw the field get the latest FieldTurf. A permanent NFL shield logo replaced the removable team logos at the center of the field.
Another surface rebuild started on February 1, 2016. The stadium opted to lay down the UBU Speed S5-M Synthetic Turf on the ground.
2020 Onwards
In 2020, the playing surface was changed again. The new artificial grass was called the FieldTurf Classic HD system. The work was completed in May 2020.
The latest iteration was announced back in November 2022. The stadium’s representative stated, “We evaluate our field each season and historically have replaced our playing surface every 3-4 years. We have made a decision to replace the field in 2023 and are currently reviewing proposals from multiple vendors for a new synthetic surface.”
To everyone’s shock, the stadium administrators decided to stick with FieldTurf instead of getting a natural grass covering.
The synthetic grass brought in various complaints from coaches and athletes. The 2020 Week 2 injuries to the 49ers players drew significant attention to the quality and standard of the field’s covering.
Upon inspection, it was declared to have met all the protocols and standards set by the league.
The 2023 Core system has the first multilayer dual-polymer monofilament fiber, making it a premium surface.
Giants RB Matt Breida praised the surface and claimed it felt like natural grass and was not sticky. It has drawn good response from other athletes like Sterling Shephard and coach Brian Daboll.
NFL Field With Natural Grass
NFL stadiums with natural grass comprise State Farm Stadium, M&T Bank Stadium, Soldier Field, FirstEnergy Stadium, and eleven more venues.
Here is a list of all the National Football League Stadiums across the United States that use natural grass on their surface:
| Acrisure Stadium | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Allegiant Stadium | Las Vegas Raiders |
| Empower Field at Mile High | Denver Broncos |
| FedExField | Washington Commanders |
| FirstEnergy Stadium | Cleveland Browns |
| GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Hard Rock Stadium | Miami Dolphins |
| Lambeau Field | Green Bay Packers |
| Levi’s Stadium | San Francisco 49ers |
| Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia Eagles |
| M&T Bank Stadium | Baltimore Ravens |
| Soldier Field | Chicago Bears |
| State Farm Stadium | Arizona Cardinals |
| TIAA Bank Field | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Raymond James Stadium | Tampa Bay Bucaneers |
Before 2023, the Tennessee Titans’ home ground Nissan Stadium had natural grass before switching to Matrix Helix. The synthetic grass will have an organic infill, making it the first location to use this technology in the league.
The natural grass, consistently praised for higher lower extremity injuries, was the Bermuda Grass.
This grass type is one of the most popular natural grass grown in the NFL Stadium. It goes by the binomial name of Cynodon dactylon.
The venues that have grown various this grass are:
- State Farm: Tifway 419 Hybrid
- M&T Bank: Tifway 419
- Soldier Field: Tahoma 31
- TIAA Bank Field: Tifway 419
- Arrowhead: Latitude 36
- Hard Rock: Tifway 419
- Levi’s Stadium: Tifway II
- Lincoln Field: Tahoma 31
- Raymond James: Tifway 419
- FedEx Field: Latitude 36
- Allegiant Stadium
Likewise, Kentucky bluegrass is another widely used natural grass. It can be found in the following stadiums:
- FirstEnergy Stadium
- Empower Field
- Lambeau Field
- Acrisure Stadium