120-508: FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of French company Tarkett . FieldTurf is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec , Canada, and its primary manufacturing facility is located in Calhoun, Georgia , United States. With a design intended to more accurately replicate real grass, the new product rapidly gained popularity in
240-468: A June 30, 2023, deadline, San Diego State had to rescind its notice of intention to leave the Mountain West. At the start of Pac-12 Media Days on July 21, 2023, Commissioner Kliavkoff was asked about the status of the media rights deal and conference expansion, deflecting most questions on the matter. Having heard enough, Colorado president Rick George left Media Days early to return to Boulder. Less than
360-646: A hybrid of mostly natural and some artificial grass, with these "hybrid pitches" having been implemented across several parts of the United Kingdom and Australia. The first synthetic turf cricket field in the USA was opened in Fremont, California in 2016. 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
480-519: A league survey conducted in 2010. When asked, "Which surface do you think is more likely to shorten your career?", 90% responded artificial turf. When players were asked "Is the Turf versus Grass debate overblown or a real concern" in an anonymous player survey, 83% believe it is a real concern while 12.3% believe it is overblown. Following receiver Odell Beckham Jr. 's injury during Super Bowl LVI , other NFL players started calling for turf to be banned since
600-598: 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 two-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
720-465: A natural grass field, was instead surfaced with FieldTurf upon positive reaction from the Seattle Seahawks when they played on the surface at their temporary home of Husky Stadium during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. This would be the first of a leaguewide trend taking place over the next several seasons that would not only result in teams already using artificial surfaces for their fields switching to
840-518: A natural grass surface at BMO Field in Toronto. The club removed the FieldTurf playing surface and switched to a traditional grass surface starting in 2010. Following David Beckham 's move to Major League Soccer in 2007, he voiced his opinion that the league should convert to grass for all pitches. In an apology, he stated that the surface is fine at lower levels, but that his feelings had not changed about
960-511: A small minority of courts use the surface. Both infill and non-infill versions are used, and are typically considered medium-fast to fast surfaces under the International Tennis Federation's classification scheme. A distinct form found in tennis is an "artificial clay" surface, which seeks to simulate a clay court by using a very short pile carpet with an infill of the same loose aggregate used for clay courts that rises above
1080-405: A study at New Mexico State University found that in that environment, water-cooling of artificial turf can demand as much water as natural turf. However, a 2022 study that used real-world data to model a ten-year-life-cycle environmental footprint for a new natural-turf soccer field compared with an artificial-turf field found that the natural-turf field contributed twice as much to global warming as
1200-503: A surface approved by FIFA and UEFA. The latter ordered the 2008 European Champions League final hosted in the same stadium in May 2008 to 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. One Desso " hybrid grass " product incorporates both natural grass and artificial elements. In June 2009, following
1320-515: A third-generation artificial pitch. In 2018, Sutton United were close to achieving promotion to the Football League and the debate in England about artificial pitches resurfaced again. It was reported that, if Sutton won promotion, they would subsequently be demoted two leagues if they refused to replace their pitch with natural grass. After Harrogate Town 's promotion to the Football League in 2020,
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#17330940548841440-746: A two-member conference at least for [2024–25]" and would be recognized under a two-year grace period , until 2026, to meet conference requirements in the NCAA bylaws. On December 5, 2023, Oregon State and Washington State announced that had entered into a football alliance with the Mountain West Conference (MWC) for the 2024 season. With the alliance, both programs will play three home games and three away games against MWC opponents. The West Coast Conference (WCC) has invited both schools to join as affiliate members for basketball and most other non-football sports. Both partnerships are expected to last from
1560-494: A way to gain entry into the rapidly growing residential and commercial synthetic grass markets in the United States. The surface is composed of monofilament polyethylene -blend fibers tufted into a polypropylene backing. The infill is composed of a bottom layer of silica sand, a middle layer which is a mixture of sand and cryogenic rubber, and a top layer of only rubber. The fibers are meant to replicate blades of grass, while
1680-610: A week later on July 27, 2023, Colorado announced it would return to the Big 12 as of the 2024–25 school year. The nine remaining Pac-12 members then demanded an update on the negotiations, including numbers on expected payouts. Kliavkoff came back with a deal from the Apple TV+ streaming service that paid member institutions in the low-to-mid-$ 20 million range, albeit with escalators for meeting subscriber quotas. On August 4, 2023, Oregon and Washington announced they would be following UCLA and USC to
1800-526: A whole was 22% higher on FieldTurf than on natural grass. While MCL sprains did not occur at a rate significantly higher than on grass, rates of ACL sprains were 67% higher on FieldTurf." Studies of the safety of FieldTurf are conflicting. A five-year study funded by FieldTurf and published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that injury rates for high-school sports were similar on natural grass and synthetic turf. However, notable differences in
1920-629: Is a combination of woven and nonwoven polypropylene. These materials are permeable and allow water to drain through the backing itself. Some evidence shows higher player injury on artificial turf. In a study performed by the National Football League Injury and Safety Panel, published in the October 2012 issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine , Elliott B. Hershman et al. reviewed injury data from NFL games played between 2000 and 2009. They wrote, "...the injury rate of knee sprains as
2040-509: Is much more durable than grass and easily maintained without irrigation or trimming, although periodic cleaning is required. Stadiums that are substantially covered and/or at high latitudes often use artificial turf, as they typically lack enough sunlight for photosynthesis and substitutes for solar radiation are prohibitively expensive and energy-intensive. Disadvantages include increased risk of injury especially when used in athletic competition, as well as health and environmental concerns about
2160-400: Is problematic for areas which cannot afford to build an extra artificial field for hockey alone. The International Hockey Federation and manufacturers are driving research in order to produce new fields that will be suitable for a variety of sports. The use of artificial turf in conjunction with changes in the game's rules (e.g., the removal of offside, introduction of rolling substitutes and
2280-689: 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 . More than 11,000 artificial turf playing fields have been installed nationally. More than 1,200 were installed in
2400-584: The Ivy League had maintained its membership for a longer time than the Pac-10 among Division I conferences. Commissioner Larry Scott said on February 9, 2010, that the window for expansion was open for the next year as the conference began negotiations for a new television deal. Speaking on a conference call to introduce former Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg as his new deputy, Scott talked about possibly adding new teams to
2520-700: 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 was first installed in 1964 on a recreation area at the Moses Brown School in Providence , Rhode Island . The material came to public prominence in 1966, when AstroTurf
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#17330940548842640-708: The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the principal members of which founded the Athletic Association of Western Universities ( AAWU ) in 1959. The conference previously went by the names Big Five , Big Six , Pacific-8 , and Pacific-10 . The Pac-12 moniker was adopted in 2011 with the addition of Colorado and Utah . Nicknamed the "Conference of Champions", the Pac-12 has won more NCAA national championships in team sports than any other conference in history. Washington 's national title in women's rowing in 2017
2760-569: The SEC . The alliance included an inter-conference scheduling component for football and men's and women's basketball. In 2021, the Pac-12 paid $ 19.8 million to its member schools, the lowest distribution in the Power Five. Despite the alliance, on June 30, 2022, UCLA and USC announced their departure for the Big Ten Conference beginning in the 2024–25 academic year. As a result of losing two of
2880-691: The United States Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2021–22 academic year. The following table shows revenue specifically from NCAA / Conference Distributions, Media Rights, and Post-Season Football reported by the Knight Commission for the 2021–22 academic year. Since restarting in 1959 as the AAWU, the Pac-12 has had six commissioners: Commissioners of
3000-620: The Western United States . It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level of NCAA football competition. The conference currently comprises two members, Oregon State and Washington State . The modern Pac-12 Conference formed after the disbanding of
3120-477: The " Pac-2 " by media outlets, to the point that a game between the two teams during the 2023 football season was jokingly dubbed the "Pac-2 Championship Game" by fans. On September 8, 2023, Oregon State and Washington State filed a lawsuit against the Pac-12 and Commissioner George Kliavkoff in Washington State Superior Court for control of the conference and its assets. They contended that
3240-526: The 2005–06 season, approved artificial surfaces were to be permitted in their competitions. 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
3360-808: The AAWU or its successors. The Pac-12 claims the PCC's history as its own. Not only did it maintain the automatic bid from the Rose Bowl inherited from the PCC, but the eight largest schools in the old PCC all eventually joined the new league. However, the old PCC operated under a separate charter. The Pac-12 is one of the founding members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), a conference organized to provide competition in non-revenue Olympic sports. All-Pac-12 members participate in at least one MPSF sport (men's and women's indoor track and field both actually have enough participating Pac-12 schools for
3480-519: The Big Ten conference for the 2024 season. Later on that same day, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah announced that they would follow Colorado to the Big 12 Conference starting in 2024. On September 1, 2023, California and Stanford announced their departure for the Atlantic Coast Conference starting in 2024. In September 2023, Yahoo! Sports reported that the Pac-12 is "expected to operate as
3600-451: The CFL currently use artificial turf, largely because of the harsh weather conditions in the latter-half of the season. The only one that does not is BMO Field in Toronto, which initially had an artificial pitch and has been shared by the CFL's Toronto Argonauts since 2016 (part of the endzones at that stadium are covered with artificial turf). The first stadium to use the next-generation surface
3720-618: The English Premiership's Middlesbrough F.C. As of 2012, FieldTurf has installed over 7000 athletic fields. In 2005, French flooring manufacturer and minority shareholder Tarkett increased its share in FieldTurf, which led to the integration of the two companies. FieldTurf is a part of the Tarkett Sports division of the holding company Tarkett SA. In May 2010, FieldTurf acquired the American company EasyTurf of San Diego, California, as
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3840-601: 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 soccer 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
3960-564: The MLS use because of the toll the harder surface takes on the body. Thierry Henry never played at Seattle's CenturyLink Field during his time in MLS due to the surface. A specialized version of FieldTurf called Air FieldTurf has been installed to cover the edges of runways at several airports. Artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass , used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It
4080-583: The NFL's Injury and Safety Panel presented a study finding that anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries happened 88% more often in games played on FieldTurf than in games played on grass. In 2012, the Injury and Safety Panel published an independently funded analysis of actual game data over the 2000–2009 seasons. Their statistically significant findings showed a 67% higher rate of ACL sprains and 31% higher rate of eversion ankle sprains. The first installation of FieldTurf in
4200-547: The PCC disbanded in June 1959. Ten months earlier in August 1958, these four schools agreed to form a new conference that would take effect the following summer. When the four schools and Stanford began discussions for a new conference in 1959, retired Admiral Thomas J. Hamilton interceded and suggested the schools consider creating a national "power conference" (Hamilton had been a key player, head coach, and athletic director at Navy , and
4320-617: The PCC grew to 10 members with the addition of UCLA . For many years, the conference split into two divisions for basketball and baseball—a Southern Division comprising the four California schools and a Northern Division comprising the six schools in the Pacific Northwest . In 1950 , Montana departed to join the Mountain States Conference . The PCC continued as a nine-team league through June 1959. Following "pay-for-play" scandals at California, USC, UCLA, and Washington,
4440-608: The Pac-10 was considering adding up to six teams to the conference: the University of Texas, Texas A&M University , Texas Tech University , the University of Oklahoma , Oklahoma State University , and the University of Colorado. On June 10, 2010, the University of Colorado Boulder accepted an invitation to join the Pac-10 Conference, effective starting with the 2012–2013 academic year. The school later announced it would join
4560-478: The Pac-10's ambition to potentially become a sixteen-team conference. On June 17, 2010, the University of Utah accepted an invitation to join the Pac-10 Conference, effective starting July 2011. Utah was a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with Arizona and Arizona State before those two left for the Pac-10 in 1978. The Utes left an expanded WAC with seven other schools in 1999 to form
4680-500: The Pac-12, ACC , and Big Ten announced the formation of a "historic alliance" that would bring their member institutions "together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling." The formation of this alliance between three of the Power Five conferences was in response to Oklahoma and Texas announcing plans to leave the Big 12 and join
4800-575: The Pacific Northwest and Bay Area schools, and a South Division comprising the Mountain Time Zone and Southern California schools. On July 1, 2011, the Pac-12 assumed its 12-team alignment when both Colorado and Utah officially joined as full members. On August 15, 2012, the conference debuted the Pac-12 Network . It was the third college sports conference to launch a dedicated network, and
4920-684: 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 artificial turf in a European domestic top flight, after Dutch club Heracles Almelo received the FIFA certificate in August 2005. The tests were approved. FIFA originally launched its FIFA Quality Concept in February 2001. UEFA announced that starting from
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5040-616: The U.S. in 2013 alone, according to the industry group the Synthetic Turf Council. 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 that bothered
5160-774: The United States took place at Dick Bivins Stadium in Amarillo, Texas (which was the home field for the Amarillo Independent School District 's football teams) in 1998. The first major college football installation was at University of Nebraska's Memorial Stadium in 1999. The following year, it was installed at the two Pac-10 stadiums: Martin Stadium in Pullman , Washington and Husky Stadium in Seattle . The first installation in an NFL (and by extension, professional) stadium
5280-644: The addition of five schools from the Mountain West Conference and one from the West Coast Conference . The Pac-12 currently has two full-member institutions. The conference was previously split into two divisions , the North Division and the South Division, for football only. On September 12, 2024, the conference announced it would be adding four new members, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State, on July 1, 2026. At that point,
5400-415: The artificial one (largely due to a more resource-intensive construction phase), while finding that the artificial turf would likely cause more pollution of other kinds. It promoted improvements to usual practice such as the substitution of cork for rubber in artificial pitches and more drought-resistant grasses and electric mowing in natural ones. In 2021, a Zurich University of Applied Sciences study for
5520-460: 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. 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
5640-403: The carpet fibers. Tennis courts such as Wimbledon are considering using an artificial hybrid grass to replace their natural lawn courts. Such systems incorporate synthetic fibers into natural grass to create a more durable surface on which to play. Such hybrid surfaces are currently used for some association football stadiums, including Wembley Stadium . Synthetic turf can also be used in
5760-399: The city of Zurich , using local data on extant pitches, found that, per hour of use, natural turf had the lowest environmental footprint, followed by artificial turf with no infill, and then artificial turf using an infill (e.g. granulated rubber). However, because it could tolerate more hours of use, unfilled artificial turf often had the lowest environmental footprint in practice, by reducing
5880-507: The climate demanded it. The use of artificial 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 artificial turf, with tests made in several grounds meeting with FIFA approval. A team of UEFA, FIFA and German company Polytan conducted tests in
6000-451: The club was obliged to install a natural grass pitch at Wetherby Road ; and after winning promotion in 2021 Sutton Utd were also obliged to tear up their artificial pitch and replace it with grass, at a cost of more than £500,000. Artificial pitches are permitted in all rounds of the FA Cup competition. The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup took place entirely on artificial surfaces, as the event
6120-532: The collapse of the Southwest Conference . Texas expressed an interest in joining a strong academic conference, but joined three fellow Southwest Conference schools ( Texas A&M , Texas Tech , and Baylor ) to merge with the Big Eight Conference to form the Big 12 Conference in 1996 . Colorado elected to remain in the newly formed Big 12. Before the addition of Colorado and Utah in 2011, only
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#17330940548846240-432: The conference a year earlier than previously announced, in the 2011–2012 academic year. On June 15, 2010, a deal was reached between Texas and the Big 12 Conference to keep Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State in the Big 12. Following Texas' decision, the other Big 12 schools that had been rumored candidates to join the Pac-10 announced they would remain in the Big 12. This deal effectively ended
6360-447: The conference and launching a new television network. Scott, the former head of the Women's Tennis Association, took over the conference in July 2009. In his first eight months on the job, he saw growing interest from the membership over the possibility of adding teams for the first time since Arizona and Arizona State joined the conference in 1978. In early June 2010, there were reports that
6480-597: The conference announced that Gonzaga, a non-football college, would be joining as a full member. (Fall 2023) (millions) The Pac-12 has two affiliate member institutions in California and one in Arkansas. All three participate in the Pac-12 for wrestling. No school had left the Pac-12 from its founding as the AAWU in 1959 until 2024, when 10 of its 12 schools left. Two members of the PCC , Idaho and Montana, were not invited to join
6600-623: The conference became informally known as the Big Six . The new league inherited the PCC's berth in the Rose Bowl ; since 1947, the PCC champion had received an automatic bid to the bowl. Oregon and Oregon State joined in the summer of 1964. With their addition, the conference was known unofficially as the Pacific Athletic Conference , and then the Pacific-8 (as there already
6720-408: The conference needed to add at least two more members to be recognized by the NCAA as an FBS conference. On September 23, 2024, Utah State accepted an offer to join the league as its seventh member. This gave the Pac-12 the seven members needed to preserve its official "multisport" status, though one more football-sponsoring full member will be needed to preserve FBS status. On September 30, 2024,
6840-409: The conference to sponsor a championship, but the Pac-12 has opted not to do so). For certain sports, the Pac-12 admits certain schools as associate members. Full members Full members (non-football) Other Conference Other Conference Associate members (non-football) The roots of the Pac-12 Conference go back to December 2, 1915, when the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC)
6960-412: The conference was in question. The Pac-10 began sponsoring women's athletics in the fall of 1986. Women's teams previously competed with other large universities on the Pacific coast in either the Northern Pacific Conference or the Western Collegiate Athletic Association . In the mid-1990s, the conference expressed interest in admitting the University of Colorado and the University of Texas after
7080-424: The conference's tentpole programs (and the entirety of the Los Angeles television market), the conference's ongoing media rights negotiations became much more complicated. ESPN reportedly had made an offer in which the ten remaining schools would receive around $ 30 million per year. This was rejected by member schools, who countered with a demand for $ 50 million per school per year. ESPN responded by walking away from
7200-446: The country. Rugby union also uses artificial surfaces at a professional level. Infill fields are used by English Premiership Rugby teams Gloucester , Newcastle Falcons , Saracens F.C. and the now defunct Worcester Warriors , as well as United Rugby Championship teams Cardiff , Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors . Some fields, including Twickenham Stadium , have incorporated a hybrid field, with grass and synthetic fibers used on
7320-486: The departing schools, under the conference constitution, forfeited their right to participate in governing the conference by publicly declaring their intention to leave, and that if they retain control they might use it to dissolve the league and drain its millions of dollars in assets. On November 14, 2023, Judge Gary Libey of the Whitman County, Washington , Superior Court ruled in favor of the two schools. The University of Washington (UW) filed an emergency motion to keep
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#17330940548847440-415: The environment, and artificial turf is a source of microplastics pollution and rubber pollution in air , fresh-water , sea and soil environments. In Norway, Sweden, and at least some other places, the rubber granulate from artificial turf infill constitutes the second largest source of microplastics in the environment after the tire and road wear particles that make up a large portion of
7560-399: The fall of 2024 to the spring of 2026. Washington State will also participate in the Mountain West for baseball, but Oregon State, a three-time College World Series champion, will become a baseball independent. After the ten schools departed, the conference continued using the Pac-12 name and branding for at least the 2024–25 academic year. Oregon State and Washington State were nicknamed
7680-431: The fine road debris . As early as 2007, Environment and Human Health, Inc., a lobby-group, proposed a moratorium on the use of ground-up rubber tires in fields and playgrounds based on health concerns; in September 2022, the European Commission made a draft proposal to restrict the use of microplastic granules as infill in sports fields. Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in
7800-402: The first MLB field to use a third-generation artificial surface, FieldTurf . All other remaining artificial turf stadiums were either converted to third-generation surfaces or were replaced entirely by new natural grass stadiums. In a span of 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
7920-465: The first stadium to host a FIFA World Cup qualifying match on FieldTurf. The Dundalk F.C. Stadium, Oriel Park , received FieldTurf's first FIFA 2-star rating. FieldTurf has 29 FIFA-recommended 1-Star installations and 31 FIFA Recommended 2-Star installations as of 2009. In 2007, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada had almost 50% of its games played on FieldTurf. The use of FieldTurf in Major League Soccer (MLS) has received criticism. The installation of
8040-484: 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. Artificial pitches were banned from top-flight (then First Division) football in 1991, forcing Oldham Athletic to remove their artificial pitch after their promotion to the First Division in 1991, while then top-flight Luton Town also removed their artificial pitch at the same time. The last Football League team to have an artificial pitch in England
8160-476: The first to completely fund and own their own network outright. The conference had been based in Walnut Creek since the late 1970s until August 2014. Since 2014, the conference was headquartered in San Francisco, California , with the conference moving to working remotely once the lease expires in June 2023. The Pac-12 Network and meeting space for headquarters employees are now located at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon , an East Bay suburb. On August 24, 2021,
8280-579: The formation of the Big Sky Conference in 1963, and were independent in football until 1965 . In 1978 , the conference added Arizona and Arizona State from the Western Athletic Conference , becoming the Pacific-10 Conference or Pac-10 . The invitations to the schools were extended in December 1976, and the expansion formally announced in May 1977. In the mid-1980s, three of the northwest schools (Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State) were having financial difficulties in athletics, primarily with revenue from football, and their long-term membership in
8400-399: The golf industry, such as on driving ranges, putting greens and even in some circumstances tee boxes. For low budget courses, particularly those catering to casual golfers, synthetic putting greens offer the advantage of being a relatively cheap alternative to installing and maintaining grass greens, but are much more similar to real grass in appearance and feel compared to sand greens which are
8520-540: The grass in the stadium, which has a retractable roof and is located in a desert city, was cited as the reason for the switch. In 2020, Miami's Marlins Park (now loanDepot Park) also switched to artificial turf for similar reasons, while the Texas Rangers' new Globe Life Field was opened with an artificial surface, as it is also a retractable roof ballpark in a hot weather city; this puts the number of teams using synthetic turf in MLB at five as of 2023. The first professional American football team to play on artificial turf
8640-405: The infill acts as a cushion. This cushion is intended to improve safety when compared to earlier artificial surfaces and allows players to plant and pivot as if they were playing on a grass field. Each square foot of turf contains about 3 kg (7 lb) of sand and 1.5 kg (3 lb) of cryogenic rubber. FieldTurf does not use shock-absorbency pads below its infill. The backing of the turf
8760-422: The late 1990s. Jean Prévost bought the patent of the FieldTurf product in 1988, and originally named his Montreal-based company SynTenni Co., a name which would eventually be dropped in favor of FieldTurf Inc. In 1995, John Gilman, a former Canadian Football League player and coach, joined FieldTurf as CEO. In 1997, FieldTurf made its first major installation for a professional team, at the training facility for
8880-563: 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 the Kansas City Royals ' Kauffman Stadium , to switch from artificial turf back to natural grass. In 2000, St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field became
9000-528: The negotiating table. Reports began circulating that Commissioner Kliavkoff had been to the San Diego State University and SMU campuses for tours. This was allegedly part of the conference's vetting process for expansion. San Diego State sent the Mountain West Conference a letter notifying it of the school's impending departure. The Pac-12, however, was adamant about securing a media rights deal before expanding. Without an incoming offer before
9120-456: The new Athletic Association of Western Universities was launched, with California, UCLA, USC, and Washington as the four charter members. Stanford joined during the first month. Hamilton left Pittsburgh to become the first commissioner of the AAWU, and remained for twelve years. The conference also was popularly known as the Big Five from 1960 to 1962. When Washington State joined in 1962,
9240-505: The new Mountain West Conference . Utah became the first " BCS Buster " to join a BCS conference, having played in (and won) two BCS games beforehand. On July 27, 2010, the conference unveiled a new logo and announced that the Pac-10 would be renamed the Pac-12 when Utah and Colorado formally joined in July 2011. On October 21, the Pac-12 announced that its football competition would be split into two divisions —a North Division comprising
9360-558: The new FieldTurf or other similar surfaces but would also see several teams playing on grass adopt a new surface. (The Indianapolis Colts ' RCA Dome and the St. Louis Rams ' Edward Jones Dome were the last two stadiums in the NFL to replace their first-generation AstroTurf surfaces for next-generation ones after the 2004 season ). For example, after a three-year experiment with a natural surface, Giants Stadium went to FieldTurf for 2003, while M&T Bank Stadium added its own artificial surface
9480-459: The new home of Chivas , one of the most popular teams in Mexico. The owner of Chivas, Jorge Vergara , defended the reasoning behind using artificial turf because the stadium was designed to be "environment friendly and as such, having grass would result [in] using too much water." Some players criticized the field, saying its harder surface caused many injuries. When Johan Cruyff became the adviser of
9600-428: The outside of the window causing the reflection. Artificial turf has been used at airports. Here it provides several advantages over natural turf – it does not support wildlife, it has high visual contrast with runways in all seasons, it reduces foreign object damage (FOD) since the surface has no rocks or clumps, and it drains well. Some artificial turf systems allow for the integration of fiber-optic fibers into
9720-482: The petroleum and toxic chemicals used in its manufacture. Artificial turf first gained substantial attention in 1966, when ChemGrass was installed in the year-old Astrodome , developed by Monsanto and rebranded as AstroTurf , now a generic trademark (registered to a new owner) for any artificial turf. The first-generation system of shortpile fibers without infill of the 1960s has largely been replaced by two more. The second features longer fibers and sand infill and
9840-458: 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. Given its early use, the term astroturf has since been genericized as a term for any artificial turf. Because the supply of AstroTurf
9960-465: The possibility of boycotts, FIFA 's head of women's competitions, Tatjana Haenni, made it clear that "we play on artificial turf and there's no Plan B." The first stadium to use artificial turf in Brazil was Atlético Paranaense 's Arena da Baixada in 2016. In 2020, the administration of Allianz Parque , home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras , started the implementation of the second artificial pitch in
10080-421: The relative environmental footprints of natural and artificial turf is complex, with outcomes depending on a wide range of factors, including (to give the example of a sports field): Artificial turf has been shown to contribute to global warming by absorbing significantly more radiation than living turf and, to a lesser extent, by displacing living plants that could sequester carbon dioxide through photosynthesis;
10200-477: The replacement of Minneapolis's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome by Target Field in 2010, only two MLB stadiums used artificial turf from 2010 through 2018: Tropicana Field and Toronto's Rogers Centre. This number grew to three when the Arizona Diamondbacks switched Chase Field to artificial turf for the 2019 season; the stadium had grass from its opening in 1998 until 2018, but the difficulty of maintaining
10320-464: The same year (it has since been removed and replaced with a natural surface, which the stadium had before installing the turf). Later examples include Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium), which went from grass to turf in 2004; Gillette Stadium , which made the switch in 2006; and NRG Stadium , which did so in 2015. As of 2021, 14 NFL fields out of 30 are artificial. NFL players overwhelmingly prefer natural grass over synthetic surfaces, according to
10440-717: The self-pass, and to the interpretation of obstruction) have contributed significantly to change the nature of the game, greatly increasing the speed and intensity of play as well as placing far greater demands on the conditioning of the players. Some association football clubs in Europe installed synthetic surfaces in the 1980s, which were called "plastic pitches" (often derisively) in countries such as England. There, four professional club venues had adopted them; QPR's Loftus Road (1981–1988), Luton Town's Kenilworth Road (1985–1991), Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park (1986–1991) and Preston North End's Deepdale (1986–1994). QPR had been
10560-516: The site of the game, SoFi Stadium , was a turf field. Arena football is played indoors on the older short-pile artificial turf. The first professional Canadian football stadium to use artificial turf was Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia , then home of the Canadian Football League 's BC Lions , which installed 3M TartanTurf in 1970. Today, eight of the nine stadiums in
10680-417: 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 artificial turf for other sports, in that it does not try to reproduce a grass feel, being made of shorter fibers. This allows the improvement in speed brought by earlier artificial turfs to be retained. This development
10800-533: The surface at CenturyLink Field in Seattle was approved only after the operator of the then-new stadium agreed to install a natural grass field when needed. Their concern derived from the surface potentially hindering the city's ability to attract an MLS franchise and international soccer events. In September 2006, several top Canadian soccer players appealed to the Canadian Soccer Association to install
10920-411: The surface. This allows for the field to be much more hard wearing, making it less susceptible to weather conditions and frequent use. Carpet has been used as a surface for indoor tennis courts for decades, though the first carpets used were more similar to home carpets than a synthetic grass. After the introduction of AstroTurf , it came to be used for tennis courts, both indoor and outdoor, though only
11040-580: The team, he recommended the switch to natural grass, which the team did in 2012. In November 2011, it was reported that a number of English football clubs were interested in using artificial pitches again on economic grounds. As of January 2020, artificial pitches are not permitted in the Premier League or Football League but are permitted in the National League and lower divisions. Bromley are an example of an English football club who currently use
11160-459: The tentacles from getting a tight seal. The first major academic review of the environmental and health risks and benefits of artificial turf was published in 2014; it was followed by extensive research on possible risks to human health, but holistic analyses of the environmental footprint of artificial turf compared with natural turf only began to emerge in the 2020s, and frameworks to support informed policymaking were still lacking. Evaluating
11280-557: The third adds recycled crumb rubber to the sand. Compared to earlier systems, modern artificial turf more closely resembles grass in appearance and is also considered safer for athletic competition. However, it is still not widely considered to be equal to grass. Sports clubs, leagues, unions and individual athletes have frequently spoken out and campaigned against it, while local governments have enacted and enforced laws restricting and/or banning its use. David Chaney, who moved to Raleigh, North Carolina , in 1960 and later served as Dean of
11400-871: The total number of pitches required. The study recommended optimising the use of existing pitches before building new ones, and choosing the best surface for the likely intensity of use. Another suggestion is the introduction of green roofs to offset the conversion of grassland to artificial turf. Contrary to popular belief, artificial turf is not maintenance free. It requires regular maintenance, such as raking and patching, to keep it functional and safe. Some artificial turf uses infill such as silicon sand, but most uses granulated rubber , referred to as " crumb rubber ". Granulated rubber can be made from recycled car tires and may carry heavy metals , PFAS chemicals , and other chemicals of environmental concern. The synthetic fibers of artificial turf are also subject to degradation. Thus chemicals from artificial turfs leach into
11520-536: The traditional all-dirt path, but starting in 1970 with Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, 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 five-sided diamond-shaped "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 last stadium in MLB to use this configuration
11640-410: The traditional alternative surface. Because of the vast areas of golf courses and the damage from clubs during shots, it is not feasible to surface fairways with artificial turf. Artificial grass is used to line the perimeter of some sections of some motor circuits, and offers less grip than some other surfaces. It can pose an obstacle to drivers if it gets caught on their car. Since the early 1990s,
11760-464: The turf. This would allow for runway lighting to be embedded in artificial landing surfaces for aircraft (or lighting or advertisements to be directly embedded in a playing surface). Artificial turf is commonly used for tanks containing octopusses, in particular the Giant Pacific octopus since it is a reliable way to prevent the octopusses from escaping their tank, as they prevent the suction cups on
11880-959: The two schools from gaining full control of the conference for the 2023–24 academic year; a Washington Supreme Court commissioner granted UW's motion on November 28, 2023. However, this was overturned on December 15, 2023, by the Washington State Supreme Court , giving Oregon State and Washington State sole control of the Pac-12, meaning the departing schools will no longer be able to vote on conference decisions. Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights and licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, concessions, and novelties. Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance. The following table shows institutional reporting to
12000-515: The types of injuries were found. Athletes playing on synthetic turf sustained more skin injuries and muscle strains, while those who played on natural grass were more susceptible to concussions and ligament tears. In 2010, another FieldTurf-funded but peer-reviewed study was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine , this time on NCAA Division I-A football, concluding that in many cases, games played on FieldTurf-branded products led to fewer injuries than those played on natural grass. However,
12120-591: The use of hardscape and plantless areas, including artificial turf. In several locations in different countries, homeowners have been fined, ordered to remove artificial turf and/or had to defend themselves in courts. Many of these restrictions can be found in local bylaws and ordinances. These not always applied in a consistent manner, especially in municipalities that utilize a complaint-based model for enforcing local laws. Sunlight reflections from nearby windows can cause artificial turf to melt. This can be avoided by adding perforated vinyl privacy window film adhesive to
12240-502: The use of synthetic grass in the more arid western states of the United States has moved beyond athletic fields to residential and commercial landscaping. New water saving programs, as of 2019, which grant rebates for turf removal, do not accept artificial turf as replacement and require a minimum of plants. The use of artificial grass for convenience sometimes faces opposition: Legislation frequently seeks to preserve natural gardens and fully water permeable surfaces, therefore restricting
12360-648: The world. In 2009, FIFA launched the 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: Act Global, Limonta, Desso, GreenFields, and Edel Grass. These firms have made quality guarantees directly to FIFA and have agreed to increased research and development. In 2010, Estadio Omnilife with an artificial turf opened in Guadalajara to be
12480-480: Was Rogers Centre in Toronto, when they switched to an all-dirt infield (but keeping the artificial turf) for the 2016 season. The biggest difference in play on artificial turf was that the ball bounced higher than on real grass and also traveled 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
12600-594: Was Ottawa's Frank Clair Stadium (now TD Place Stadium ), which the Ottawa Renegades used when they began play in 2002 . The Saskatchewan Roughriders ' Taylor Field was the only major professional sports venue in North America to use a second-generation artificial playing surface, Omniturf , which was used from 1988 to 2000, followed by AstroTurf from 2000 to 2007 and FieldTurf from 2007 to its 2016 closure. Some cricket pitches are made of synthetic grass or of
12720-433: Was Preston North End, who removed their pitch in 1994 after eight years in use. Artificial pitches were banned from the top four divisions from 1995. Artificial turf gained a bad reputation globally, with fans and especially with players. The first-generation artificial turf surfaces were carpet-like in their look and feel, and thus, a far harder surface than grass and soon became known as an unforgiving playing surface that
12840-668: Was a major conference called the Big Eight ). In 1968, the AAWU formally renamed itself the Pacific-8 Conference , or Pac-8 for short. The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team from the conference until the 1975 season ; in basketball, participation in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was not allowed until 1973 . Idaho was never invited to join the AAWU; the Vandals were independent for four years until
12960-450: Was completed. The Chicago White Sox became the first team to install artificial turf in an outdoor stadium, as they used it only in the infield and adjacent foul territory at Comiskey Park from 1969 through 1975. Artificial turf was later installed in other new multi-purpose stadiums such as Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium , Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium , and Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium . Early AstroTurf baseball fields used
13080-630: Was filed on 1 October 2014 in an Ontario tribunal court by a group of women's international soccer players against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association and specifically points out that in 1994 FIFA spent $ 2 million to plant natural grass over artificial turf in New Jersey and Detroit . Various celebrities showed their support for the women soccer players in defense of their lawsuit, including actor Tom Hanks , NBA player Kobe Bryant and U.S. men's soccer team keeper Tim Howard . Even with
13200-513: Was founded at a meeting at the Imperial Hotel in Portland, Oregon . Charter members were the University of California (now University of California, Berkeley), University of Washington, University of Oregon, and Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University). An official of Stanford University also attended the meeting but declined to join right away because, unlike the other schools, it
13320-951: Was in 2002, at the Seattle Seahawks ' new stadium, known as Lumen Field . Originally planned to have a natural grass field, the Seahawks instead decided to install FieldTurf after they had played the two previous seasons in Husky Stadium on that surface. FieldTurf's first high-profile installation came in January 1997 as English club Middlesbrough chose FieldTurf for its new training field. Only artificial fields with FIFA-recommended 2-star status can be used in FIFA and UEFA Finals competitions. Other FIFA and UEFA competitions require at least 1-star status. In 2001, Boston University 's FieldTurf soccer field became FieldTurf's first to obtain FIFA 1-star status. In 2005, Saprissa Stadium in San José, Costa Rica became
13440-503: 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
13560-506: Was no difference to her post-match recovery – a view shared by the rest of the squad. The squad spent much time preparing on the surface and had no problems with its use in Winnipeg. "We've been training on [artificial] turf pretty much all year so I think we're kind of used to it in that way ... I think grass or turf you can still pull up sore after a game so it's definitely about getting the recovery in and getting it right", Foord said. A lawsuit
13680-486: Was not going to sponsor a football team in the coming year and it was not willing to prohibit freshmen from competing in sports. The PCC began play in 1916. One year later, Washington State College (now Washington State University) joined the league, followed by Stanford University in 1918. In 1922, the PCC expanded to eight teams with the admission of USC and Idaho . Montana joined the Conference in 1924, and in 1928,
13800-537: Was played in Canada, where almost all of the country's stadiums use artificial turf due to climate issues. This plan garnered criticism from players and fans, some believing the artificial surfaces make players more susceptible to injuries. Over fifty of the female athletes protested against the use of artificial turf on the basis of gender discrimination . Australia winger Caitlin Foord said that after playing 90 minutes there
13920-412: 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
14040-458: Was still low, only a limited amount was available for the first home game. There was not 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 19 July 1966, the installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf
14160-751: Was the Houston Oilers , then part of the American Football League , who moved into the Astrodome in 1968, which had installed AstroTurf two years prior. In 1969, the University of Pennsylvania 's Franklin Field in Philadelphia, at the time also home field of the Philadelphia Eagles , switched from grass to AstroTurf, making it the first National Football League stadium to use artificial turf. In 2002, CenturyLink Field , originally planned to have
14280-442: Was the 500th NCAA championship won by a Pac-12 school. The Pac-12 holds a 200-plus championship lead over the second-place conference. On August 2, 2024, 10 of the 12 members departed from the conference. The Pac-12 is operating as a two-team conference through the 2025–26 academic year, sponsoring five sports—baseball, football, track and field, women's gymnastics, and wrestling. In 2026, the Pac-12 will expand to eight members with
14400-405: Was the current athletic director at Pittsburgh ). Nicknamed the " Airplane Conference ", the five former PCC schools would have played with other major academically-oriented schools, including Army , Navy , Air Force , Notre Dame , Pitt , Penn State , and Syracuse . The effort fell through when a Pentagon official vetoed the idea and the service academies backed out. On July 1, 1959,
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