The Pittsburgh Steelers recently found themselves in the middle of some controversy. The NFLPA “report cards” were recently leaked, and the Steelers came in dead last. Players cited numerous issues with Pittsburgh’s facilities, including a new category that focused on the team’s fields. Acrisure Stadium got blasted, ranking at the very bottom “by a wide margin.” As a result, the team will resurface the field before the 2026 season, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac.
“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,” Dulac wrote Thursday in an article on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Steelers’ field has been criticized for years, and it came under fire multiple times last year. Specifically, Acrisure was a mess for the team’s Week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns. It looked terrible, and it could be argued that the conditions played a part in safety Miles Killebrew’s major knee injury.
Dulac also mentioned that the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears currently use the Steelers’ new surface. Both teams play outdoors. They often deal with rough weather conditions, which will also be a factor in Pittsburgh.
However, one of the biggest problems with Acrisure’s field is how much it’s used. The Steelers aren’t the only football team to call it home. The University of Pittsburgh also plays its home games at Acrisure Stadium. Additionally, some high school games are also played on it. That’s a big reason why the field is beat up during Steelers games.
While it’s unclear how well the new surface will combat that issue, Dulac stated that it’s “designed to be more hardy, have [fewer] divots, and recover quickly.” It sounds like it should help minimize the issues the Steelers face on their home field, but only time will tell.
There are some potential concerns with the Tahoma 31 surface, though, as Dulac writes.
“However, if not installed early to allow for deep root penetration, the Tahoma 31 surface can become slippery. That was the case at the 2023 Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., when the surface was installed too late, and the league was forced to apologize for the poor footing.”
That Super Bowl was between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. Multiple players complained afterwards that the field was slippery. Therefore, the Steelers could still have some problems even with this change.
It will be important for the grounds crew to give the field enough time to install. If they don’t, the Steelers could face new problems. We’ll see how much the change helps, if at all, in the 2026 season.
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