After a season of sharp criticism from players like Aaron Rodgers, the Pittsburgh Steelers are finally overhauling their problematic home turf. With a new NFL mandate requiring all stadium surfaces to meet updated field and lab testing standards, Steelers president Art Rooney II is making a decisive move with the Steelers home-field surface.

“Steelers president Art Rooney said Thursday that Acrisure Stadium will be resurfaced for the 2026 season with Tahoma 31 Bermuda, a mixture of Bermuda and bluegrass grown on plastic sheets that is cold-tolerant and used on many golf courses, sporting fields, and even the lawn of the U.S. Capitol,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported in a recent article.

Until now, Acrisure Stadium has relied on Kentucky bluegrass. While that grass can handle heavy use, it has struggled to withstand the constant playing time of both the Steelers and the Pittsburgh Panthers. Things took a turn for the worse in October last year when the Panthers and Steelers played on back-to-back days. The quick turnaround accelerated wear and tear at Acrisure Stadium, and maintenance crews simply didn’t have enough time to restore the surface between games. 

So, during the Steelers’ 23-9 Week 6 win over the Cleveland Browns last season, several players lost their footing. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell even missed a rare field goal after his plant foot slipped on a bare patch on the field. Steelers special teams captain Miles Killebrew even suffered a non-contact knee injury, which ended his season, and the field conditions were widely viewed as a possible contributing factor. The on-field issues culminated in sharp post-game criticism from Aaron Rodgers, who did not hold back.

“The field got borderline unplayable,” Rodgers said in the post-game presser. “I just felt like it got really beat up. By the time the third quarter rolled around, that thing was really beat up. It reminds me a little bit of the field in Green Bay in the early years, but not until, like, November or early December, where it would get kind of torn up a little bit.”

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Meanwhile, other outdoor NFL stadiums, including Soldier Field and Lincoln Financial Field, already use Bermuda-bluegrass blends. Those fields have earned reputations for better recovery, durability, and a rich dark-green finish, and if the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles can make it work while playing in harsh outdoor climates, why not the Steelers?

“It sounds crazy, but they grow the grass on a plastic sheet first to make sure the roots are growing,” Art Rooney said on February 27 during a break in the NFL Scouting Combine. “It’s a different blend of what we have been using. They’ve been using it in other places, and it’s been working.”

While Tahoma 31 promises fewer divots, stronger roots, and quicker recovery, on paper, it sounds like exactly what Pittsburgh needs. But there’s a catch: if the crew at Acrisure Stadium installs the sod too late, the roots won’t penetrate deeply enough, and the surface can become slick. We saw that happen at Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, where players from both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Eagles struggled with footing. The NFL later apologized for the slippery conditions. 

Therefore, it will be crucial for the grounds crew to allow enough time for the playing surface to be installed at Acrisure Stadium.

Acrisure Stadium ranked the worst home field in the NFLPA survey

While ESPN just released a survey conducted by the NFLPA for the 2025 season, it raised more concerns for the Steelers. According to the survey, Pittsburgh ranked 32nd overall — dead last in the league. This ranking was mostly a reflection of Art Rooney II’s lack of investment in upgrading Acrisure Stadium and the Steelers’ facilities.

“[Steelers owner] Art Rooney ranks last in the league for willingness to invest in facilities, a trend reflected in the Steelers’ poor facility ratings across the board,” the survey revealed. “Players cite inadequate maintenance and excessive wear from hosting local college and high school games. Players across the league note the poor condition of the field and emphasize the need for investment to bring it up to standard.”

Many players clearly believe the field at Acrisure Stadium hasn’t kept pace with league standards, as they ranked it at the bottom of the league in the recent survey. Aaron Rodgers’ criticism of Acrisure Stadium may have amplified the conversation, but the complaints had been building for years. Now, with Tahoma 31 Bermuda set to arrive for the 2026 season, Pittsburgh has an opportunity to reset its reputation. Art Rooney II also addressed the possibility of switching to artificial turf, though he made it clear that natural grass remains the preference.

“The sod farm we use has changed,” Art Rooney II said on February 27 at the NFL Scouting Combine. “They’re going to grow more of this new version than what they have been doing because of the NFL [requirement]. The only way we would consider [an artificial surface] is if the sod farms can’t produce good grass for us. We’re kind of at their mercy. If something happened with the sod farms not producing enough of the good grass, we would have to consider a change.”

The NFL requires artificial and hybrid surfaces to meet standardized requirements by 2027, but the Steelers have historically resisted that route. Many players in Pittsburgh have apparently preferred natural grass, citing safety concerns. While the NFL insists injury rates don’t significantly differ between surfaces, medical circles have often disputed that claim.

The move to Tahoma 31 is a direct response to years of complaints, but with the memory of Super Bowl LVII’s turf disaster still fresh, the pressure is on the Steelers’ grounds crew to get the installation right and finally put the field concerns to rest.