PHOENIX — AT&T Stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys, will be switching from artificial turf to a grass surface for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. That switch is expected to be temporary, however.
“I’m very comfortable putting some grass down for soccer under regulations and proud to be able to do it,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said from the owners meetings in Arizona on Tuesday, “but, quickly get that turf back out there to go back to the other business of the stadium and the team.”
The debate over grass and turf playing surfaces has been alive for a while. Half of the league’s stadiums use artificial turf, while the other half use grass. The NFL Players Association reported in 2024 that 92% of the league’s players wanted to play on grass fields. The players association’s stance is that all stadiums should have natural grass playing surfaces and that it’s possible to do so.
Jones said there are reasons why they use turf. He also claimed it benefits players, despite what the NFLPA’s 2024 study indicated.
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“We have more flexibility with the way we handle our surface at the stadium,” Jones said. “We have no belief that it’s any safer to play, on grass over turf. We are ambiguous as to the safety of it. The turf actually like many things improved the economics of being able to play this game. And our players are the biggest benefactor of all. They get the best benefit of when we do good things financially, the players are benefiting.”
AT&T Stadium will host nine World Cup matches, marking the most of any location. That also includes four knockout matches, including a semifinal.
The World Cup will play matches at AT&T Stadium from June 14 to July 14. After that, the artificial turf will return.
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