When was astroturf invented

Faria and Robert T. After the success of the Astrodome, Indiana State University Stadium became the first outdoor stadium to install artificial turf in Slowly but surely, first generation synthetic grass became a popular commodity in sports arenas across the United States and Canada.

It also had a more flattering appearance. The tufts were spread widely apart in order to mimic a real grass appearance. Although second generation turf eventually proved to be acceptable for sports like field hockey, it was less suitable for sports like soccer as the playing characteristics and the actual ball behavior did not match the capabilities of natural grass.

It was not until that a synthetic turf soccer field proved to be truly suitable for the sport. This is what one would see in any residential yard, commercial property and sports field today! We use cookies for social media functionalities, analytics, personalised content and advertising including on 3rd party sites. By clicking 'Accept' or continuing to browse our site and clicking through, you agree to such use and to the sharing of your data with our partners.

To find out more about our use of cookies, our partners or how to withdraw your consent see our Privacy Policy. So, there were a few obstacles to be overcome before we could be well served by the specialised sports turfs of recent times. As with any great idea, from sketchy beginnings, improvements created demand and demand drove improvements.

Also home of the Philadelphia Eagles, it was the first National Football League stadium to use artificial turf. Early s: Synthetic grass fields began to be used for hockey. The new generation of sports turfs available today provides a superb surface for playing sport on. In , the Houston Astros organization began investigating artificial surfaces for the Astrodome baseball field. Originally, they attempted to use a special type of natural grass on the indoor field.

This resulted in the Astros organization having to paint the dirt field green, to make it appear more like a normal baseball field. By the start of the season, the Astros decided to go with the relatively new ChemGrass. Due to there being a limited supply, though, they were only able to get the infield covered with ChemGrass for the first half of the season.

Even though the grass was specifically bred for indoor use, the dome's semi-transparent Lucite ceiling panels, which had been painted white to cut down on glare which bothered the players, did not pass enough sunlight to support the grass. For most of the season, the Astros played on green-painted dirt and dead grass. The solution was to install a new type of fake grass on the field, ChemGrass , which became known as AstroTurf. Because the supply of AstroTurf was still low, only a limited amount was available for the first home game.

There wasn't enough for the entire outfield, but there was enough to cover the traditional grass portion of the infield. The outfield remained painted dirt until after the All-Star Break. The team was sent on an extended road trip before the break, and on 16 July , the installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf was completed.

Groundskeepers dressed as astronauts kept the turf clean with vacuum cleaners between innings. Artificial grass was later installed in other new "cookie-cutter" stadiums such as Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium , Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium , and Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium.