Oklahoma State University Scientists Score a Big Win, Developing the Turf for Super Bowl LVII

Michigan State University may be credited for developing turf tough enough for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but Oklahoma State University’s Turfgrass Research Center has a new claim to fame: creating the turfgrass for Super Bowl 57.

As the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles gear up to the play in the Super Bowl this weekend, both teams will play the big game on Tahoma 31 – a turf developed by OSU scientists. The turf was selected for the playing field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

“Our turfgrass breeding program really has focused on developing varieties that are tough,” says Thomas Coon, OSU Ag Vice President & Dean.

Tahoma 31 is also resilient, has a fine texture, darker color and can handle drought, cold and shade. OSU plant breeder Dr. Yanqui Wu is on the turf development team.

“Not many bermudagrass seeds are heat tolerant, but it is with Tahoma 31,” Yanqui Wu told Oklahoma State University’s SunUp program. “So, all of these components put together, they make this grass robust in many aspects, so it's adapted to many locations.”

A new turfgrass variety isn’t developed overnight. It takes 10 to 15 years to research and develop. The extensive testing takes place in the greenhouse, the lab and in the field and can include more than one-thousand experimental plants.

The best variety is then patented and released commercially.

“We have no involvement in the selling of the product itself. It’s just simply the development of it to really try to solve specific problems,” says Scott Senseman, OSU Ag Research Assoc. Vice President. “For instance this year we had a very tough drought year. So, we had some grasses that had some specific characteristics that really handled the drought really well, like perhaps an enhanced root system. And so those are some of the characteristics that a breeder is looking for.”

Royalties from the patents come back to the University for further research. Dr. Dennis Martin is an OSU Extension Turfgrass Specialist on the team. 

“The grass is performing and as long as it continues to perform, I think we’ll see it on those facilities,” says Martin. “At the same time, we have the next generation of materials in the pipeline that are experimental to be rolled out.”

It’s great for advancing the field on which the game is played, but also great for advancing science.

“When you start thinking about the reach for our turfgrass, we have it in Soldier Field. We also have it at Churchill Downs. We have it at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.,” says Senseman. “And then to have it at two different playoff games, and then the Super Bowl, I don’t know if anyone could ever claim that they have plant material that people we’re playing on and the performance of that. That’s really astounding.”

In addition to turfgrass research and extension programs – Oklahoma State also has a turfgrass option for students in the Ferguson College of Agriculture.

Original reporting by Oklahoma State's Sunup TV program.