Nissan Stadium Changing to Artificial Turf

The Tennessee Titans already have begun installation of the state-of-the-art surface, which will be in place for the 2023 NFL season.

Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports

NASHVILLE – Nissan Stadium is going artificial.

The Tennessee Titans announced Tuesday that the playing surface on their home field will be a monofilament synthetic field beginning with the 2023 season. Preparations for the installation already have begun.

The decision was made based on review of injury data and the growth patterns of grass in this part of the country, according to a release from the team.

The Titans will assume the full cost of the transition.

“I think our grounds crew is among the best in the National Football League,” Titans’ president and CEO Burke Nihill said. “Ultimately there’s just a limit to how much can be done for a natural grass surface in this part of the country. This turf is cutting-edge technology and will be a huge improvement in terms of consistency and performance.”

The new surface will be a Matrix Helix turf, which utilizes corkscrew-shaped fibers that spring back into place after contact. It also will feature an organic infill, which retains moisture better than rubber, and more closely mimics the look and feel of real grass.

Nissan Stadium will be the first in the NFL to utilize this technology for its playing surface.

Players and coaches have experience with it, however. A Matrix Helix turf was installed in the team’s indoor practice facility last year.

“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,” coach Mike 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.”

Nissan Stadium has featured a real grass playing surface since it opened in 1999.

However, as the team moves forward with plans for a new domed stadium. That venue tentatively is scheduled to open in 2026 and will have an artificial surface. In a way, therefore, this is a first step in that transition.

“A properly built synthetic turf field with organic infill and a pad is a superior system to a mediocre grass field,” Reed Seaton, president and CEO of Hellas Construction Inc., which will perform the installation, said. “The technology of synthetic turf is now able to emulate a well-maintained grass field.”