Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Bank of America Stadium will transition from natural grass to artificial turf prior to the 2021-22 NFL season, according to an announcement by Tepper Sports & Entertainment on Wednesday.
The decision to adopt FieldTurf as the primary playing surface was made to accommodate more than just Carolina Panthers home games. The Charlotte Football Club of Major League Soccer will start at BOA in 2022. A turnkey solution for multiple events coming to Charlotte’s biggest venue with little upkeep costs.
With that being said, the stadium’s move away from natural grass leaves half of the NFL’s 32 stadiums with artificial turf.
TSE vice president and chief operations officer Mark Hart cited the demand for a change and said it would be a “heavy lift” to have continued with natural grass, which the stadium has used since the Panthers played their first game there in 1996, according to ESPN.
“With two major professional sports franchises using Bank of America Stadium, and more events upcoming, having a natural grass surface is going to be a heavy lift. We believe a synthetic surface provides the best solution,” Hart said.
In addition to NFL and MLS games, the stadium has hosted concerts and other one-off sporting events throughout the years. This is on top of the regularly scheduled ACC-SEC Duke’s Mayo kickoff classic in non-conference play, ACC football championship, and Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Georgia and Clemson are scheduled to kick off the 2021 college football season at Bank of America on Sept. 4. The meeting of top ten CFB Playoff powerhouses is expected to be in front of a sellout crowd later this year.
