Buffs ditch grass at Folsom Field, installing artificial turf

The Colorado Buffaloes have tried everything to regain the glory of the 1990s, except change their playing surface—that is, until 2025, when the Buffs will switch out the natural grass in favor of turf at Folsom Field.

According to the Daily Camera, the University of Colorado will install AstroTurf’s RootZone 3D3 field in June. The change shifts the 101-year-old Folsom Field back to the artificial surface that coincided with many of the Buffs’ glory years in the 28 seasons from 1971 to 1998. Since 1999, the Buffaloes have played on grass, but in recent seasons, the surface has been in rough shape later in the fall—not surprising given grass doesn’t naturally grow in Colorado after Halloween.

It’s the deeper into the calendar conundrum that has Colorado’s brass convinced.

“I think putting turf down there gives us flexibility, certainly with the change in the College Football Playoff,” CU athletic director Rick George told the Daily Camera. “Being a northern school, you don’t grow grass after October, and having a game in December (for the CFP) was a big part of that consideration. Plus, it gives us another field that we can practice on daily that will benefit our football program.”

The other recent development at Folsom Field is an increased concert slate that has forced the Buffs to replace the grass just before the season starts or deal with some huge dead patches from the performers’ stages. With turf, not only is the surface no longer a worry, but it opens up more dates to host shows in Boulder’s biggest venue.

It could also help the current struggling Ralphie to actually run. In some poor weather games, the Ralphie runners have to forgo the tradition in the thought of safety for the animal and her handlers.

The Daily Camera notes that 69.4% (93 of 134) of the schools in the top flight of college football use artificial surfaces. All but 10 using grass are located in the South, California or Arizona. The Buffaloes are already pretty used to turf, having played five of seven road games on the surface last season and practicing on it a lot in the team’s indoor facility.

But there are pretty notable downsides, including the initial cost of $1 million—which CU expects to make up with less maintenance over its life.

The NFLPA has been strong on the increased injury risk that comes with playing on turf.

Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, the NFLPA says, “players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf. Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass.”

The NFLPA also shared that 92% of their players prefer natural grass and 6% of the players surveyed were infidrent.

Soccer players have skipped games on turf, with those growing up in Europe having never even played on the surface. Superstar Lionel Messi skipped a game in Atlanta in 2023 because of the playing surface. In 2015, many women’s soccer players called it gender discrimination when the World Cup took place on turf in Canada.

Even former CU Buffs star David Bakhtiari has spoken out about turf in the NFL, sharing a message that the league’s stadiums will mostly have to go to grass anyway ahead of the 2026 Men’s World Cup since FIFA doesn’t currently allow the tournament to be played exclusively on artificial turf.

Congrats @nfl. How many more players have to get hurt on ARTIFICIAL TURF??! You care more about soccer players than us. You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it’s feasible.
I’m sick of this..Do better!

— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) September 12, 2023

Fans may first see the new surface at a few concerts in June; Colorado’s home football opener is on Aug. 29 against Georgia Tech. Who knows what John Heisman would think about the Yellow Jackets on the manmade turf?