Artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fiber s made to look like natural grass . It is most often used in arenas for sport s that were originally or are normally played on grass . However , it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well . The main reason is maintenance — artificial turf stands up to heavy use , such as in sports , and requires no irrigation or trimming . Domed , covered , and partially covered stadiums may require artificial turf because of the difficulty of getting grass enough sunlight to stay healthy . But artificial turf does have its downside : limited life , periodic cleaning requirements , petroleum use , toxic chemicals from infill , and some heightened health and safety concerns . Artificial turf first gained substantial attention in the 1960s , when it was used in the newly constructed Astrodome . The specific product used was developed by Monsanto and called " AstroTurf " ; this term since then became a colloquialism for any artificial turf throughout the late 20th century . AstroTurf remains a registered trademark , but is no longer owned by Monsanto . The first generation turf systems ( i . e . , short - pile fibers without infill ) of the 1960s has been largely replaced by the second generation and third generation turf systems . Second generation synthetic turf systems featured sand infills , and third generation systems , which are most widely used today , offer infills that are mixtures of sand and recycled rubber . History . David Chaney – who moved to Raleigh , North Carolina , in 1960 and later served as Dean of the North Carolina State University College of Textiles – headed the team of Research Triangle Park researchers who created the first notable artificial turf . That accomplishment led " Sports Illustrated " to declare Chaney as the man " responsible for indoor major league baseball and millions of welcome mats . " Artificial turf first came to prominence in 1966 , when AstroTurf was installed in the Astrodome in Houston , Texas . The state - of - the - art indoor stadium had attempted to use natural grass during its initial season in 1965 , but this failed miserably and the field conditions were grossly inadequate during the second half of the season , with the dead grass painted green . Due to a limited supply of the new artificial grass , only the infield was installed before the Houston Astros ' home opener in April 1966 , the outfield was installed in early summer during an extended Astros road trip and first used after the All - Star Break in July . The use of AstroTurf and similar surfaces became widespread in the U . S . and Canada in the early 1970s , installed in both indoor and outdoor stadiums used for baseball and football . Maintaining a grass playing surface indoors , while technically possible , is prohibitively expensive . Teams who chose to play on artificial surfaces outdoors did so because of the reduced maintenance cost , especially in colder climates with urban multi - purpose " cookie cutter " stadiums such as Cincinnati ' s Riverfront Stadium , Pittsburgh ' s Three Rivers Stadium and Philadelphia ' s Veterans Stadium . Applications . Baseball . Artificial turf was first used in Major League Baseball in the Houston Astrodome in 1966 , replacing the grass field used when the stadium opened a year earlier . Even though the grass was specifically bred for indoor use , the dome ' s semi - transparent Lucite ceiling panels , which had been painted white to cut down on glare which bothered the players , did not pass enough sunlight to support the grass . For most of the 1965 season , the Astros played on green - painted dirt and dead grass . The solution was to install a new type of artificial grass on the field , ChemGrass , which became known as AstroTurf . Because the supply of AstroTurf was still low , only a limited amount was available for the first home game . There wasn ' t enough for the entire outfield , but there was enough to cover the traditional grass portion of the infield . The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All - Star Break . The team was sent on an extended road trip before the break , and on July 19 , 1966 , the installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf was completed . Groundskeepers dressed as astronauts kept the turf clean with vacuum cleaners between innings . Artificial turf was later installed in other new " cookie - cutter " stadiums such as Pittsburgh ' s Three Rivers Stadium , Philadelphia ' s Veterans Stadium , and Cincinnati ' s Riverfront Stadium . Early AstroTurf baseball fields used the traditional all - dirt path , but in the early 1970s , teams began using the " base cutout " layout on the diamond , with the only dirt being on the pitcher ' s mound , batter ' s circle , and in a " sliding box " around each base . With this layout , a painted arc would indicate where the edge of the outfield grass would normally be , to assist fielders in positioning themselves properly . The biggest difference in play on artificial turf was that the ball bounced higher than on real grass , and also travelled faster , causing infielders to play farther back than they would normally , so that they would have sufficient time to react . The ball also had a truer bounce than on grass , so that on long throws fielders could deliberately bounce the ball in front of the player they were throwing to , with the certainty that it would travel in a straight line and not be deflected to the right or left . However , the biggest impact on the game of " turf " , as it came to be called , was on the bodies of the players . The artificial surface , which was generally placed over a concrete base , had much less give to it than a traditional dirt and grass field did , which caused more wear - and - tear on knees , ankles , feet and the lower back , possibly even shortening the careers of those players who played a significant portion of their games on artificial surfaces . Players also complained that the turf was much hotter than grass , sometimes causing the metal spikes to burn their feet , or plastic ones to melt . These factors eventually provoked a number of stadiums , such as Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City , Missouri , to switch from artificial turf back to natural grass . In 2000 , St . Petersburg ' s Tropicana Field became the first MLB field to use a softer artificial surface , FieldTurf . All other remaining artificial turf stadiums were either converted to FieldTurf or were replaced entirely by new natural grass stadiums . In just 13 years , between 1992 and 2005 , the National League went from having half of its teams using artificial turf to all of them playing on natural grass . With the replacement of Minneapolis ' s Hubert H . Humphrey Metrodome by Target Field in 2010 , only two MLB stadiums , both in the American League East , are still using artificial turf : Tropicana Field and Toronto ' s Rogers Centre , which converted to a next generation AstroTurf in 2010 . MLB also schedules some games to be played in Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan , Puerto Rico , which also has an FieldTurf installation , but one which plays faster than those in St . Petersburg and the old field in Toronto . American football . In 1969 , Franklin Field , the gridiron stadium of the University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , switched from grass to artificial turf . Also home of the Philadelphia Eagles , it was the first National Football League stadium to use artificial turf . In 2006 , Gillette Stadium , the football stadium of the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution , switched from grass to FieldTurf due to the conflict of poor weather and hosting many sporting and musical events at the stadium . It is one of 13 National Football League stadiums that have turf instead of grass fields ; the Patriots , Giants and Jets ( who share a stadium ) and Bengals actually switched from AstroTurf to natural grass before reverting to a next - generation artificial surface . All eight stadiums in the Canadian Football League currently use artificial turf , due to that country ' s northern climate . The XFL , in its short life , outlawed the use of artificial turf , requiring all of its teams to play in stadiums with natural grass surfaces . The move , made in part to reduce injuries , was also a ploy to give the league a more authentic , " smash - mouth " appeal . The league also scheduled all of its games , however , in the winter , when grass does not typically grow as well in the northern United States ; the New York / New Jersey Hitmen and Chicago Enforcers ' home fields were visibly damaged with heavy bare spots by the end of the league ' s lone 2001 season . Field hockey . The introduction of synthetic surfaces has significantly changed the sport of field hockey . Since being introduced in the 1970s , competitions in western countries are now mostly played on artificial surfaces . This has increased the speed of the game considerably , and changed the shape of hockey sticks to allow for different techniques , such as reverse stick trapping and hitting . Field hockey artificial turf differs from football and gridiron artificial turf in that it does not try to reproduce a grass ' feel ' , being made of shorter fibres similar to the ones used on Dunfermline ' s field . This shorter fibre structure allows the improvement in speed brought by earlier artificial turfs to be retained . This development in the game is however problematic for many local communities who often cannot afford to build two artificial fields : one for field hockey and one for other sports . The FIH and manufacturers are driving research in order to produce new fields that will be suitable for a variety of sports . Prior to the introduction of this playing surface India and Pakistan dominated field hockey for decades . Apart from the major cities in these countries , this surface is unaffordable to the mass of players . The use of astro turf in conjunction with changes in the game ' s rules ( e . g . allowing of body - blocks ) have contributed significantly to changed the nature of the game , affected it ' s artistry and allowed other nations - mostly western - to now get to the top of the world rankings . Football . Some football clubs in Europe installed synthetic surfaces in the 1980s , which were called " plastic pitches " ( often derisively ) in countries such as England . In England , several professional club venues had adopted them ; QPR ' s Loftus Road , Luton Town ' s Kenilworth Road , Oldham Athletic ' s Boundary Park and Preston ' s Deepdale . QPR had been the first team to install an artificial pitch at their stadium in 1981 , but were the first to remove it when they did so in 1988 . The last team to have an artificial pitch in England was Preston North End , who removed their pitch in 1994 after eight years in use . Turf gained a bad reputation on both sides of the Atlantic with fans and especially with players . The first Astro turfs were a far harder surface than grass , and soon became known as an unforgiving playing surface which was prone to cause more injuries , and in particular , more serious joint injuries , than would comparatively be suffered on a grass surface . This turf was also regarded as aesthetically unappealing to many fans . In 1981 , London football club Queens Park Rangers dug up its grass pitch and installed an artificial one . Others followed , and by the mid - 1980s there were four artificial surfaces in operation in the English league . They soon became a national joke : the ball pinged round like it was made of rubber , the players kept losing their footing , and anyone who fell over risked carpet burns . Unsurprisingly , fans complained that the football was awful to watch and , one by one , the clubs returned to natural grass . In the 1990s many North American football clubs also removed their artificial surfaces and re - installed grass , while others moved to new stadiums with state - of - the - art grass surfaces that were designed to withstand cold temperatures where the climate demanded it . The use of turf was later banned by FIFA , UEFA and by many domestic football associations , though , in recent years , both governing bodies have expressed resurrected interest in the use of artificial surfaces in competition provided that they are FIFA Recommended . UEFA has now been heavily involved in programs to test turf with tests made in several grounds meeting with FIFA approval . A team of UEFA , FIFA and German company Polytan conducted tests in the Stadion Salzburg Wals - Siezenheim in Salzburg , Austria which had matches played on it in UEFA EURO 2008 . It is the second FIFA 2 Star approved turf in a European domestic top flight , after Dutch club Heracles Almelo received the FIFA certificate in August 2005 . The tests were approved . Developments . In the early 21st century , new artificial playing surfaces using sand and / or rubber infill were developed . FIFA originally launched its FIFA Quality Concept in February 2001 . UEFA announced that starting from the 2005 - 06 season , approved artificial surfaces were to be permitted in their competitions . Regardless of the views of the governing bodies , criticism of artificial surfaces in soccer continues , notably in reference to the FieldTurf surface at Toronto F . C . ' s BMO Field ( replaced with grass in 2010 ) and Giants Stadium , former home of New York Red Bulls . Current and former players have recently criticised the surface , expressing concerns that , among other things , it may exacerbate injuries . A full international fixture for the 2008 European Championships was played on 17 October 2007 between England and Russia on an artificial surface , which was installed to counteract adverse weather conditions , at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow . It was one of the first full international games to be played on such a surface approved by both FIFA and UEFA . However UEFA ordered that the 2008 European Champions League final hosted in the same stadium in May 2008 must take place on grass , so a temporary natural grass field was installed just for the final . UEFA stressed that artificial turf should only be considered an option where climatic conditions necessitate . In June 2009 , following a match played at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in Costa Rica , American national team manager Bob Bradley called on FIFA to " have some courage " and ban artificial surfaces . FIFA designated a star system for artificial turf fields that have undergone a series of tests that examine quality and performance based on a two star system . Recommended 2 - Star fields may be used for FIFA Final Round Competitions as well as for UEFA Europa League and Champions League matches . There are currently 130 FIFA Recommended 2 - Star installations in the world . In 2009 , FIFA launched the FIFA Preferred Producer Initiative to improve the quality of artificial football turf at each stage of the life cycle ( manufacturing , installation and maintenance ) . Currently , there are five manufacturers that were selected by FIFA including ACT Global Sports , Limonta , Desso , GreenFields and Edel Grass . These firms have made quality guarantees directly to FIFA and have agreed to increased research and development . The needs of artificial turf are growing high in Southeast Asia , especially Indonesia and Thailand . Many brands are developing their products . Indonesia is a big country whose people are very interested in Soccer . Unfortunately they lack space . This is why the growth of futsal and indoor soccer center is increasing rapidly . In November 2011 , it was reported that a number of English football clubs are interested in using artificial pitches again on economic grounds . Ski and snowboard . Some skiing and snowboarding clubs and resorts in Europe installed artificial surfaces in the 1960s and 1970s . Often called pista del sol , after its ability to be used in warm , sunny , conditions , these installations have become increasingly common . Landscaping . Since the early 1990s , the use of synthetic grass in the more arid Western states of the United States has moved rapidly beyond athletic fields to residential and commercial landscaping . This trend has been driven by the dramatic improvement in the quality and variety of available synthetic grasses , the reduced cost of maintenance and care compared to natural grass , and the realization that artificial lawns can be a significant water conservation measure in areas where water usage is a concern . Airports . Artificial turf has several advantages over natural grass for use at airports : The main suppliers in the area are AvTurf and FieldTurf .