I went on the 2026 turf tour at Ohio Stadium to see the new turf get rolled out. It started at 1PM, and the place was alive with crews at work and people excited for the coming season.
The new field is Shaw’s NFL®Approved The Forge Series, a synthetic turf system built with a manufacturing process called GAME ON.
Simply put, this is about as advanced as synthetic turf gets right now.
The old turf went in back in 2022. It was Shaw Momentum Pro, built with slit-film fibers, and it drew some controversy over player safety. It’s also the field the Buckeyes played on during their 2024 national championship season.
The new field replaces slit-film fibers with individual monofilament fibers designed to look and behave more like natural grass.
Slit-film fibers are wide ribbons of turf that split into a webbed pattern. Monofilament fibers are individual blades that look closer to real grass.
Slit-Film Fibers
The old Ohio Stadium turf
Monofilament Fibers
The new Ohio Stadium turf
The tour guide said they’re hoping the new field lasts ten years, seven at the least. The old one wore out faster, chewed up by games, concerts, camps, and events. Any field that hosts more than games takes extra damage. He said the new field will be exclusively for Ohio State football games.
Limiting the field to football will help extend its life. But the new turf also has a built-in advantage.
How GAME ON changes turf installation
Graphics are tufted into the turf at the factory instead of cut and glued in by hand on site.
Normally, turf comes off the line mostly green. Then installers cut the yard lines, numbers, hash marks, logos, and end-zone graphics separately out of colored turf. They glue and sew each piece into the field by hand.
Think of stitching panels into a quilt where everything has to land in exactly the right place. It’s a slow process with plenty of room for error.
And every one of those cuts creates a seam. Turf seams are tough, but seams are still weak points. Wear, lifting, and failure often start there.
GAME ON eliminates much of that field work. The field arrives ready to roll out with most of the markings and graphics already built in.
The payoff is a faster install with less material and far fewer seams. You also get more design freedom.
Customizable end zones for themed games
Ohio State officials say the new Forge and GAME ON field supports customizable end zones for themed games.
What that looks like in practice, we’ll have to wait and see. Built-in graphics make it much easier to do.
Shaw makes turf for stadiums and for your yard
The company behind the new turf at the Horseshoe also makes turf you can put in your own backyard, on your patio, or in your man cave.
Shaw Sports Turf handles the serious athletic side. And it’s the official synthetic turf provider of the College Football Playoff.
Shaw Grass is the landscape line for homes and businesses. They offer options for natural-looking lawns and pet areas. Even putting greens that roll true.
Panel Town has access to both.
Shaw Grass is developed by The same R&D team behind Shaw Sports Turf’s world-class athletic fields. That stadium-level turf expertise goes into products engineered specifically for your lawn.
The right turf depends on the project, though, so it’s not as simple as dropping it in a cart by the sq. ft. and checking out.
Turf is only as good as what’s under it
It doesn’t matter if it’s a stadium field or a patch of your backyard, a good turf installation starts underneath. Outdoors that means proper grading and a sub-base that drains. Indoors it means a flat, clean subfloor.
Want Shaw Turf for your project?
If you’re thinking about turf for a sports field, backyard, pet area, or putting green in your garage, give us a call or send us an email.
We can help you find the right product for your project.
