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87-517: Populous , legally Populous Holdings, Inc. , is a global architectural and design practice specializing in sports facilities, arenas and convention centers, as well as the planning and design of major special events. Populous was created through a management buyout in January 2009, becoming independently owned and operated. It is reported to be one of the largest architecture firms in the world. Populous formerly operated as HOK Sport Venue Event , which

174-661: A hybrid of mostly natural and some artificial grass, with these "hybrid pitches" having been implemented across several parts of the United Kingdom and Australia. The first synthetic turf cricket field in the USA was opened in Fremont, California in 2016. The introduction of synthetic surfaces has significantly changed the sport of field hockey . Since being introduced in the 1970s, competitions in western countries are now mostly played on artificial surfaces. This has increased

261-523: A league survey conducted in 2010. When asked, "Which surface do you think is more likely to shorten your career?", 90% responded artificial turf. When players were asked "Is the Turf versus Grass debate overblown or a real concern" in an anonymous player survey, 83% believe it is a real concern while 12.3% believe it is overblown. Following receiver Odell Beckham Jr. 's injury during Super Bowl LVI , other NFL players started calling for turf to be banned since

348-604: A match played at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in Costa Rica, American national team manager Bob Bradley called on FIFA to "have some courage" and ban artificial surfaces. FIFA designated a star system for artificial turf fields that have undergone a series of tests that examine quality and performance based on a two star system. Recommended two-star fields may be used for FIFA Final Round Competitions as well as for UEFA Europa League and Champions League matches. There are currently 130 FIFA Recommended 2-Star installations in

435-473: A natural grass field, was instead surfaced with FieldTurf upon positive reaction from the Seattle Seahawks when they played on the surface at their temporary home of Husky Stadium during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. This would be the first of a leaguewide trend taking place over the next several seasons that would not only result in teams already using artificial surfaces for their fields switching to

522-524: A small minority of courts use the surface. Both infill and non-infill versions are used, and are typically considered medium-fast to fast surfaces under the International Tennis Federation's classification scheme. A distinct form found in tennis is an "artificial clay" surface, which seeks to simulate a clay court by using a very short pile carpet with an infill of the same loose aggregate used for clay courts that rises above

609-405: A study at New Mexico State University found that in that environment, water-cooling of artificial turf can demand as much water as natural turf. However, a 2022 study that used real-world data to model a ten-year-life-cycle environmental footprint for a new natural-turf soccer field compared with an artificial-turf field found that the natural-turf field contributed twice as much to global warming as

696-506: A surface approved by FIFA and UEFA. The latter ordered the 2008 European Champions League final hosted in the same stadium in May 2008 to place on grass, so a temporary natural grass field was installed just for the final. UEFA stressed that artificial turf should only be considered an option where climatic conditions necessitate. One Desso " hybrid grass " product incorporates both natural grass and artificial elements. In June 2009, following

783-533: A tendency to cater new ballparks toward wealthier ticket buyers, such as with expanded numbers of luxury suites . Several writers have noted that upper deck seating at new ballparks may actually be farther away from the field than in the older parks, partly as a result of these new upper decks being pushed higher by rows of luxury suites. One writer in The New Yorker said it is "not quite right to credit or blame Populous" for trends in their new stadiums—as it

870-527: A third-generation artificial pitch. In 2018, Sutton United were close to achieving promotion to the Football League and the debate in England about artificial pitches resurfaced again. It was reported that, if Sutton won promotion, they would subsequently be demoted two leagues if they refused to replace their pitch with natural grass. After Harrogate Town 's promotion to the Football League in 2020,

957-705: Is also based in Kansas City. Populous is credited for spearheading a new era of baseball park design in the 1990s, beginning with Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. At Camden Yards, and in other stadiums built by Populous soon thereafter, such as Coors Field in Denver and Progressive Field in Cleveland, the ballpark was designed to incorporate aesthetic elements of the city's history and older " classic ballparks ." Camden Yards's red brick facade emulates

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1044-509: Is much more durable than grass and easily maintained without irrigation or trimming, although periodic cleaning is required. Stadiums that are substantially covered and/or at high latitudes often use artificial turf, as they typically lack enough sunlight for photosynthesis and substitutes for solar radiation are prohibitively expensive and energy-intensive. Disadvantages include increased risk of injury especially when used in athletic competition, as well as health and environmental concerns about

1131-400: Is problematic for areas which cannot afford to build an extra artificial field for hockey alone. The International Hockey Federation and manufacturers are driving research in order to produce new fields that will be suitable for a variety of sports. The use of artificial turf in conjunction with changes in the game's rules (e.g., the removal of offside, introduction of rolling substitutes and

1218-746: Is ultimately team owners that plan what they want in future stadiums—but that the firm "certainly enabled" such changes. Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum HOK was established in St. Louis , Missouri, in 1955. The firm is named for its three founding partners: George F. Hellmuth , Gyo Obata and George Kassabaum , all graduates of the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis . The practice's first building designs were schools in St. Louis suburbs, and St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florissant

1305-711: The Houston Astros ' home opener in April 1966 ; the outfield was installed in early summer during an extended Astros road trip and first used after the All-Star Break in July. The use of AstroTurf and similar surfaces became widespread in the U.S. and Canada in the early 1970s, installed in both indoor and outdoor stadiums used for baseball and football . More than 11,000 artificial turf playing fields have been installed nationally. More than 1,200 were installed in

1392-818: The Kansas City Business Journal reported that Populous was moving its Americas headquarters back downtown into the new 1400KC building in the Power and Light District . The company is one of several Kansas City-based sports design firms that trace their roots to Kivett and Myers which designed the Truman Sports Complex which was one of the first modern large single purpose sports stadiums (previously, stadiums were designed for multipurpose use). Other firms with sports design presence in Kansas City that trace their roots to Kivett include Ellerbe Becket Inc. and HNTB Corp. 360 Architecture

1479-729: The North Carolina State University College of Textiles, headed the team of Research Triangle Park researchers who created the first notable artificial turf. That accomplishment led Sports Illustrated to declare Chaney as the man "responsible for indoor major league baseball and millions of welcome mats." Artificial turf was first installed in 1964 on a recreation area at the Moses Brown School in Providence , Rhode Island . The material came to public prominence in 1966, when AstroTurf

1566-493: The sightlines were "uniformly excellent." Camden Yards was hugely popular with baseball fans, and its success convinced many cities to invest public funds in their own new ballparks to help revitalize struggling urban neighborhoods. From 1992 to 2012, HOK Sport/Populous were the lead architects on 14 Major League Baseball stadiums and helped renovate four existing stadiums. Populous's designs across Major League Baseball have become so prevalent that some critics have asserted that

1653-538: The 2005–06 season, approved artificial surfaces were to be permitted in their competitions. A full international fixture for the 2008 European Championships was played on 17 October 2007 between England and Russia on an artificial surface, which was installed to counteract adverse weather conditions, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. It was one of the first full international games to be played on such

1740-509: The CFL currently use artificial turf, largely because of the harsh weather conditions in the latter-half of the season. The only one that does not is BMO Field in Toronto, which initially had an artificial pitch and has been shared by the CFL's Toronto Argonauts since 2016 (part of the endzones at that stadium are covered with artificial turf). The first stadium to use the next-generation surface

1827-606: The English league. They soon became a national joke: the ball pinged round like it was made of rubber, the players kept losing their footing, and anyone who fell over risked carpet burns. Unsurprisingly, fans complained that the football was awful to watch and, one by one, the clubs returned to natural grass. In the 1990s, many North American soccer clubs also removed their artificial surfaces and re-installed grass, while others moved to new stadiums with state-of-the-art grass surfaces that were designed to withstand cold temperatures where

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1914-485: The Genius of Biome report, a textbook for how to apply biomimicry design principles. In 2014, ORO Editions published HOK Tall Buildings , a 300-page book exploring the design of the contemporary high-rise. Artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass , used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It

2001-645: The Middle East; Mumbai, India; and Toronto, Canada, where it established its first offices in 1997 with the acquisition of Urbana Architects. Other domestic acquisitions include Caudill Rowlett Scott based in Houston, Texas , in November 1994, adding offices in Houston and Atlanta. The purchase of 360 Architecture in January 2015, a 200-person, Kansas City –based firm, gave the group capabilities in

2088-769: The Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim in Salzburg, Austria which had matches played on it in UEFA Euro 2008. It is the second FIFA 2 Star approved artificial turf in a European domestic top flight, after Dutch club Heracles Almelo received the FIFA certificate in August 2005. The tests were approved. FIFA originally launched its FIFA Quality Concept in February 2001. UEFA announced that starting from

2175-643: The U.S. in 2013 alone, according to the industry group the Synthetic Turf Council. Artificial turf was first used in Major League Baseball in the Houston Astrodome in 1966, replacing the grass field used when the stadium opened a year earlier. 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 that bothered

2262-1064: The US opened in Hong Kong in 1984, and the second in London in 1987, a practice that would be expanded in 1995 by merging with the British architectural practice Cecil Denny Highton. The firm expanded into China in 2013, when it acquired the New York and Shanghai offices of hospitality design firm BBG-BBGM , creating one of the world's largest interior design firms, although BBG-BBGM's office in Washington, D.C., continues to operate as BBGM. By 2007, international work represented more than 40% of HOK's annual revenue. As of June 2024, HOK operates 26 offices across North America, Europe and Asia, including in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in China; Dubai in

2349-407: The US to lead a stadium development, design and standards initiative to help house all USL clubs in soccer-specific stadiums across North America by the end of the decade. In 2023, Eli Hoisington and Susan Klumpp Williams were appointed joint co-CEOs of HOK, the firm's youngest CEOs, and the first time it had appointed a woman. They succeeded Bill Hellmuth , founder George Hellmuth ’s nephew, who

2436-415: The artificial one (largely due to a more resource-intensive construction phase), while finding that the artificial turf would likely cause more pollution of other kinds. It promoted improvements to usual practice such as the substitution of cork for rubber in artificial pitches and more drought-resistant grasses and electric mowing in natural ones. In 2021, a Zurich University of Applied Sciences study for

2523-460: The ball in front of the player they were throwing to, with the certainty that it would travel in a straight line and not be deflected to the right or left. The biggest impact on the game of "turf", as it came to be called, was on the bodies of the players. The artificial surface, which was generally placed over a concrete base, had much less give to it than a traditional dirt and grass field did, which caused more wear-and-tear on knees, ankles, feet, and

2610-403: The carpet fibers. Tennis courts such as Wimbledon are considering using an artificial hybrid grass to replace their natural lawn courts. Such systems incorporate synthetic fibers into natural grass to create a more durable surface on which to play. Such hybrid surfaces are currently used for some association football stadiums, including Wembley Stadium . Synthetic turf can also be used in

2697-399: The city of Zurich , using local data on extant pitches, found that, per hour of use, natural turf had the lowest environmental footprint, followed by artificial turf with no infill, and then artificial turf using an infill (e.g. granulated rubber). However, because it could tolerate more hours of use, unfilled artificial turf often had the lowest environmental footprint in practice, by reducing

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2784-508: The city's Planned Industrial Expansion Authority. It was the first major company to relocate to the neighborhood in several decades. In March 2009, HOK Sport Venue Event changed its name to Populous after a managers' buyout by HOK Group. In October 2015, Populous relocated to its new Americas headquarters at the newly renovated Board of Trade building at 4800 Main street near the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. In August 2024,

2871-507: The climate demanded it. The use of artificial turf was later banned by FIFA , UEFA and by many domestic football associations, though, in recent years, both governing bodies have expressed resurrected interest in the use of artificial surfaces in competition, provided that they are FIFA Recommended. UEFA has now been heavily involved in programs to test artificial turf, with tests made in several grounds meeting with FIFA approval. A team of UEFA, FIFA and German company Polytan conducted tests in

2958-455: The club was obliged to install a natural grass pitch at Wetherby Road ; and after winning promotion in 2021 Sutton Utd were also obliged to tear up their artificial pitch and replace it with grass, at a cost of more than £500,000. Artificial pitches are permitted in all rounds of the FA Cup competition. The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup took place entirely on artificial surfaces, as the event

3045-586: The commission to design the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum . In 1973, HOK established a presence in New York by acquiring Kahn & Jacobs, designers of many New York City skyscrapers. By the 1970s, the firm was operating internationally and in 1975 the firm was named as architect of the $ 3.5 billion King Saud University in Riyadh , at the time the single largest building project in

3132-517: The concrete exteriors of the "cookie-cutter" multi-purpose stadiums that preceded the new parks, Populous incorporated other innovative touches: natural grass playing surfaces (instead of artificial turf ), asymmetrical field dimensions, various park-specific idiosyncrasies (like Tal's Hill in Houston), and less foul territory that would keep fans farther from the diamond. And because the stadiums were designed for baseball instead of several sports,

3219-446: The country. Rugby union also uses artificial surfaces at a professional level. Infill fields are used by English Premiership Rugby teams Gloucester , Newcastle Falcons , Saracens F.C. and the now defunct Worcester Warriors , as well as United Rugby Championship teams Cardiff , Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors . Some fields, including Twickenham Stadium , have incorporated a hybrid field, with grass and synthetic fibers used on

3306-494: The design of stadiums, ballparks and arenas. That acquisition enabled HOK to launch a new global Sports, Recreation, and Entertainment design practice after the breakaway of Populous, and to open new offices in Kansas City and Columbus, Ohio. This return to the firm's tradition of stadium architecture was buoyed on May 15, 2015, when the firm announced a multi-year partnership with the United Soccer League (USL) in

3393-419: The distinctiveness that was originally found in early retro-classic ballparks is impossible to maintain. Some older ballparks like Fenway Park have strange dimensions because of the small parcels of land on which the parks were built. Most new stadiums are built on larger, dedicated land parcels. One sportswriter said the attempt to emulate the old parks' quirks is "contrived." Some commentators have criticized

3480-841: The early 2000s, HOK began using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to streamline the design and construction process. His team designed the Weather Prediction Center with a four-story waterfall to direct rainwater into bio-retention gardens; and a louvred sunlight system for a building used by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. HOK has worked with the Biomimicry Group, co-founded by Janine Benyus , since 2008, which directs designers to use natural models in solving problems such as precipitation capture. In 2010 they collaborated with

3567-667: The energy and daylight consultancy, The Weidt Group, to complete Net Zero Court, a zero-emissions class A commercial office building in St. Louis. Using an ocular roof design, their 2017 Mercedes-Benz Stadium became the first LEED Platinum certified sports stadium in the US. Their design for the Boston Consulting Group HQ in Toronto in 2022, uses principles of wellness-informed architecture, to maximise natural light and encouraging standing, for which it won WELL Platinum Certification from WELL Building Standard accreditation body. HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 released

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3654-415: The environment, and artificial turf is a source of microplastics pollution and rubber pollution in air , fresh-water , sea and soil environments. In Norway, Sweden, and at least some other places, the rubber granulate from artificial turf infill constitutes the second largest source of microplastics in the environment after the tire and road wear particles that make up a large portion of

3741-528: The firm merged with LOBB. The new practice retained headquarters in all three cities. The Kansas City, Missouri , office was first based in the city's Garment District in the Lucas Place office building. In 2005, it moved into its headquarters at 300 Wyandotte in the River Market neighborhood in a new building it designed, on land developed as an urban renewal project through tax incentives from

3828-466: The first MLB field to use a third-generation artificial surface, FieldTurf . All other remaining artificial turf stadiums were either converted to third-generation surfaces or were replaced entirely by new natural grass stadiums. In a span of 13 years, between 1992 and 2005, the National League went from having half of its teams using artificial turf to all of them playing on natural grass. With

3915-548: The first team to install an artificial pitch at their stadium in 1981, but were the first to remove it when they did so in 1988. Artificial pitches were banned from top-flight (then First Division) football in 1991, forcing Oldham Athletic to remove their artificial pitch after their promotion to the First Division in 1991, while then top-flight Luton Town also removed their artificial pitch at the same time. The last Football League team to have an artificial pitch in England

4002-399: The golf industry, such as on driving ranges, putting greens and even in some circumstances tee boxes. For low budget courses, particularly those catering to casual golfers, synthetic putting greens offer the advantage of being a relatively cheap alternative to installing and maintaining grass greens, but are much more similar to real grass in appearance and feel compared to sand greens which are

4089-652: The grass in the stadium, which has a retractable roof and is located in a desert city, was cited as the reason for the switch. In 2020, Miami's Marlins Park (now loanDepot Park) also switched to artificial turf for similar reasons, while the Texas Rangers' new Globe Life Field was opened with an artificial surface, as it is also a retractable roof ballpark in a hot weather city; this puts the number of teams using synthetic turf in MLB at five as of 2023. The first professional American football team to play on artificial turf

4176-571: The lower back, possibly even shortening the careers of those players who played a significant portion of their games on artificial surfaces. Players also complained that the turf was much hotter than grass, sometimes causing the metal spikes to burn their feet or plastic ones to melt. These factors eventually provoked a number of stadiums, such as the Kansas City Royals ' Kauffman Stadium , to switch from artificial turf back to natural grass. In 2000, St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field became

4263-680: The massive Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse at Camden Yards that dominates the right field view behind Eutaw Street , whereas Progressive Field's glass and steel exterior "call[s] to mind the drawbridges and train trestles that crisscross the nearby Cuyahoga River ." Starting with Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati in 2003, a number of Populous Sport's stadiums featured more contemporary and even futuristic designs. Subsequent stadium exteriors featuring this motif opened in Washington, D.C. , and Minnesota . In addition to moving away from

4350-563: The new FieldTurf or other similar surfaces but would also see several teams playing on grass adopt a new surface. (The Indianapolis Colts ' RCA Dome and the St. Louis Rams ' Edward Jones Dome were the last two stadiums in the NFL to replace their first-generation AstroTurf surfaces for next-generation ones after the 2004 season ). For example, after a three-year experiment with a natural surface, Giants Stadium went to FieldTurf for 2003, while M&T Bank Stadium added its own artificial surface

4437-463: The new home of Chivas , one of the most popular teams in Mexico. The owner of Chivas, Jorge Vergara , defended the reasoning behind using artificial turf because the stadium was designed to be "environment friendly and as such, having grass would result [in] using too much water." Some players criticized the field, saying its harder surface caused many injuries. When Johan Cruyff became the adviser of

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4524-428: The outside of the window causing the reflection. Artificial turf has been used at airports. Here it provides several advantages over natural turf – it does not support wildlife, it has high visual contrast with runways in all seasons, it reduces foreign object damage (FOD) since the surface has no rocks or clumps, and it drains well. Some artificial turf systems allow for the integration of fiber-optic fibers into

4611-482: The petroleum and toxic chemicals used in its manufacture. Artificial turf first gained substantial attention in 1966, when ChemGrass was installed in the year-old Astrodome , developed by Monsanto and rebranded as AstroTurf , now a generic trademark (registered to a new owner) for any artificial turf. The first-generation system of shortpile fibers without infill of the 1960s has largely been replaced by two more. The second features longer fibers and sand infill and

4698-462: The players, did not pass enough sunlight to support the grass. For most of the 1965 season , the Astros played on green-painted dirt and dead grass. The solution was to install a new type of artificial grass on the field, ChemGrass, which became known as AstroTurf. Given its early use, the term astroturf has since been genericized as a term for any artificial turf. Because the supply of AstroTurf

4785-469: The possibility of boycotts, FIFA 's head of women's competitions, Tatjana Haenni, made it clear that "we play on artificial turf and there's no Plan B." The first stadium to use artificial turf in Brazil was Atlético Paranaense 's Arena da Baixada in 2016. In 2020, the administration of Allianz Parque , home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras , started the implementation of the second artificial pitch in

4872-421: The relative environmental footprints of natural and artificial turf is complex, with outcomes depending on a wide range of factors, including (to give the example of a sports field): Artificial turf has been shown to contribute to global warming by absorbing significantly more radiation than living turf and, to a lesser extent, by displacing living plants that could sequester carbon dioxide through photosynthesis;

4959-486: The replacement of Minneapolis's Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome by Target Field in 2010, only two MLB stadiums used artificial turf from 2010 through 2018: Tropicana Field and Toronto's Rogers Centre. This number grew to three when the Arizona Diamondbacks switched Chase Field to artificial turf for the 2019 season; the stadium had grass from its opening in 1998 until 2018, but the difficulty of maintaining

5046-464: The same year (it has since been removed and replaced with a natural surface, which the stadium had before installing the turf). Later examples include Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium), which went from grass to turf in 2004; Gillette Stadium , which made the switch in 2006; and NRG Stadium , which did so in 2015. As of 2021, 14 NFL fields out of 30 are artificial. NFL players overwhelmingly prefer natural grass over synthetic surfaces, according to

5133-721: The self-pass, and to the interpretation of obstruction) have contributed significantly to change the nature of the game, greatly increasing the speed and intensity of play as well as placing far greater demands on the conditioning of the players. Some association football clubs in Europe installed synthetic surfaces in the 1980s, which were called "plastic pitches" (often derisively) in countries such as England. There, four professional club venues had adopted them; QPR's Loftus Road (1981–1988), Luton Town's Kenilworth Road (1985–1991), Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park (1986–1991) and Preston North End's Deepdale (1986–1994). QPR had been

5220-531: The site of the game, SoFi Stadium , was a turf field. Arena football is played indoors on the older short-pile artificial turf. The first professional Canadian football stadium to use artificial turf was Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia , then home of the Canadian Football League 's BC Lions , which installed 3M TartanTurf in 1970. Today, eight of the nine stadiums in

5307-417: The speed of the game considerably and changed the shape of hockey sticks to allow for different techniques, such as reverse stick trapping and hitting. Field hockey artificial turf differs from artificial turf for other sports, in that it does not try to reproduce a grass feel, being made of shorter fibers. This allows the improvement in speed brought by earlier artificial turfs to be retained. This development

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5394-411: The surface. This allows for the field to be much more hard wearing, making it less susceptible to weather conditions and frequent use. Carpet has been used as a surface for indoor tennis courts for decades, though the first carpets used were more similar to home carpets than a synthetic grass. After the introduction of AstroTurf , it came to be used for tennis courts, both indoor and outdoor, though only

5481-530: The team, he recommended the switch to natural grass, which the team did in 2012. In November 2011, it was reported that a number of English football clubs were interested in using artificial pitches again on economic grounds. As of January 2020, artificial pitches are not permitted in the Premier League or Football League but are permitted in the National League and lower divisions. Bromley are an example of an English football club who currently use

5568-459: The tentacles from getting a tight seal. The first major academic review of the environmental and health risks and benefits of artificial turf was published in 2014; it was followed by extensive research on possible risks to human health, but holistic analyses of the environmental footprint of artificial turf compared with natural turf only began to emerge in the 2020s, and frameworks to support informed policymaking were still lacking. Evaluating

5655-557: The third adds recycled crumb rubber to the sand. Compared to earlier systems, modern artificial turf more closely resembles grass in appearance and is also considered safer for athletic competition. However, it is still not widely considered to be equal to grass. Sports clubs, leagues, unions and individual athletes have frequently spoken out and campaigned against it, while local governments have enacted and enforced laws restricting and/or banning its use. David Chaney, who moved to Raleigh, North Carolina , in 1960 and later served as Dean of

5742-871: The total number of pitches required. The study recommended optimising the use of existing pitches before building new ones, and choosing the best surface for the likely intensity of use. Another suggestion is the introduction of green roofs to offset the conversion of grassland to artificial turf. Contrary to popular belief, artificial turf is not maintenance free. It requires regular maintenance, such as raking and patching, to keep it functional and safe. Some artificial turf uses infill such as silicon sand, but most uses granulated rubber , referred to as " crumb rubber ". Granulated rubber can be made from recycled car tires and may carry heavy metals , PFAS chemicals , and other chemicals of environmental concern. The synthetic fibers of artificial turf are also subject to degradation. Thus chemicals from artificial turfs leach into

5829-490: The traditional all-dirt path, but starting in 1970 with Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, teams began using the "base cutout" layout on the diamond, with the only dirt being on the pitcher's mound, batter's circle, and in a five-sided diamond-shaped "sliding box" around each base. With this layout, a painted arc would indicate where the edge of the outfield grass would normally be, to assist fielders in positioning themselves properly. The last stadium in MLB to use this configuration

5916-410: The traditional alternative surface. Because of the vast areas of golf courses and the damage from clubs during shots, it is not feasible to surface fairways with artificial turf. Artificial grass is used to line the perimeter of some sections of some motor circuits, and offers less grip than some other surfaces. It can pose an obstacle to drivers if it gets caught on their car. Since the early 1990s,

6003-471: The turf. This would allow for runway lighting to be embedded in artificial landing surfaces for aircraft (or lighting or advertisements to be directly embedded in a playing surface). Artificial turf is commonly used for tanks containing octopusses, in particular the Giant Pacific octopus since it is a reliable way to prevent the octopusses from escaping their tank, as they prevent the suction cups on

6090-591: The use of hardscape and plantless areas, including artificial turf. In several locations in different countries, homeowners have been fined, ordered to remove artificial turf and/or had to defend themselves in courts. Many of these restrictions can be found in local bylaws and ordinances. These not always applied in a consistent manner, especially in municipalities that utilize a complaint-based model for enforcing local laws. Sunlight reflections from nearby windows can cause artificial turf to melt. This can be avoided by adding perforated vinyl privacy window film adhesive to

6177-565: The use of synthetic grass in the more arid western states of the United States has moved beyond athletic fields to residential and commercial landscaping. New water saving programs, as of 2019, which grant rebates for turf removal, do not accept artificial turf as replacement and require a minimum of plants. The use of artificial grass for convenience sometimes faces opposition: Legislation frequently seeks to preserve natural gardens and fully water permeable surfaces, therefore restricting

6264-666: The world. In 2009, FIFA launched the Preferred Producer Initiative to improve the quality of artificial football turf at each stage of the life cycle (manufacturing, installation and maintenance). Currently, there are five manufacturers that were selected by FIFA: Act Global, Limonta, Desso, GreenFields, and Edel Grass. These firms have made quality guarantees directly to FIFA and have agreed to increased research and development. In 2010, Estadio Omnilife with an artificial turf opened in Guadalajara to be

6351-673: The world. In 1979, George Kassabaum was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician. In 1983, HOK formed HOK Sport Venue Event, a subsidiary devoted entirely to designing sport stadiums, arenas, and convention centers, an architectural boom market at the time. In January 2009, the Board of HOK Group, Inc. and managers of HOK Sports Facilities, LLC transferred ownership of HOK Sport to leaders of that practice. The company became an independent firm, and rebranded itself as Populous . HOK's first office outside

6438-480: Was Rogers Centre in Toronto, when they switched to an all-dirt infield (but keeping the artificial turf) for the 2016 season. The biggest difference in play on artificial turf was that the ball bounced higher than on real grass and also traveled faster, causing infielders to play farther back than they would normally so that they would have sufficient time to react. The ball also had a truer bounce than on grass so that on long throws fielders could deliberately bounce

6525-609: Was Ottawa's Frank Clair Stadium (now TD Place Stadium ), which the Ottawa Renegades used when they began play in 2002 . The Saskatchewan Roughriders ' Taylor Field was the only major professional sports venue in North America to use a second-generation artificial playing surface, Omniturf , which was used from 1988 to 2000, followed by AstroTurf from 2000 to 2007 and FieldTurf from 2007 to its 2016 closure. Some cricket pitches are made of synthetic grass or of

6612-433: Was Preston North End, who removed their pitch in 1994 after eight years in use. Artificial pitches were banned from the top four divisions from 1995. Artificial turf gained a bad reputation globally, with fans and especially with players. The first-generation artificial turf surfaces were carpet-like in their look and feel, and thus, a far harder surface than grass and soon became known as an unforgiving playing surface that

6699-450: Was completed. The Chicago White Sox became the first team to install artificial turf in an outdoor stadium, as they used it only in the infield and adjacent foul territory at Comiskey Park from 1969 through 1975. Artificial turf was later installed in other new multi-purpose stadiums such as Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium , Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium , and Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium . Early AstroTurf baseball fields used

6786-647: Was filed on 1 October 2014 in an Ontario tribunal court by a group of women's international soccer players against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association and specifically points out that in 1994 FIFA spent $ 2 million to plant natural grass over artificial turf in New Jersey and Detroit . Various celebrities showed their support for the women soccer players in defense of their lawsuit, including actor Tom Hanks , NBA player Kobe Bryant and U.S. men's soccer team keeper Tim Howard . Even with

6873-459: Was installed in the Astrodome in Houston , Texas . The state-of-the-art indoor stadium had attempted to use natural grass during its initial season in 1965 , but this failed miserably and the field conditions were grossly inadequate during the second half of the season, with the dead grass painted green. Due to a limited supply of the new artificial grass, only the infield was installed before

6960-511: Was no difference to her post-match recovery – a view shared by the rest of the squad. The squad spent much time preparing on the surface and had no problems with its use in Winnipeg. "We've been training on [artificial] turf pretty much all year so I think we're kind of used to it in that way ... I think grass or turf you can still pull up sore after a game so it's definitely about getting the recovery in and getting it right", Foord said. A lawsuit

7047-760: Was part of the HOK Group . In 1983, HOK under Jerry Sincoff created a sports group (initially called the Sports Facilities Group and later changed to HOK Sport Venue Event). The firm initially consisted of eight architects in Kansas City, and grew to employ 185 people by 1996. The HOK Sport studio was led by architect Ron Labinski , who has been described as "the world's first sports venue architect." On several projects, HOK Sport had teamed with international design practice LOBB Partnership, which maintained offices in London, England, and Brisbane, Australia. On HOK Sport's 15th anniversary in November 1998,

7134-545: Was played in Canada, where almost all of the country's stadiums use artificial turf due to climate issues. This plan garnered criticism from players and fans, some believing the artificial surfaces make players more susceptible to injuries. Over fifty of the female athletes protested against the use of artificial turf on the basis of gender discrimination . Australia winger Caitlin Foord said that after playing 90 minutes there

7221-429: Was president of the firm from 2004 to 2016 and CEO from 2016 until his passing in 2023. Prior to Bill Hellmuth, Patrick MacLeamy served as HOK’s CEO from 2003 to 2016, and chairman since 2012. MacLeamy succeeded HOK Chairman Bill Valentine when he retired after 50 years with the firm. In 1983, HOK introduced HOK Draw, computer-aided drafting software products that specialized in conceptual architectural design. In

7308-412: Was prone to cause more injuries , and in particular, more serious joint injuries, than would comparatively be suffered on a grass surface. This turf was also regarded as aesthetically unappealing to many fans . In 1981, London football club Queens Park Rangers dug up its grass pitch and installed an artificial one. Others followed, and by the mid-1980s there were four artificial surfaces in operation in

7395-465: Was still low, only a limited amount was available for the first home game. There was not 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 19 July 1966, the installation of the outfield portion of AstroTurf

7482-845: Was the Houston Oilers , then part of the American Football League , who moved into the Astrodome in 1968, which had installed AstroTurf two years prior. In 1969, the University of Pennsylvania 's Franklin Field in Philadelphia, at the time also home field of the Philadelphia Eagles , switched from grass to AstroTurf, making it the first National Football League stadium to use artificial turf. In 2002, CenturyLink Field , originally planned to have

7569-634: Was the first independent school designed by the firm. Another prominent school they designed was the Saint Louis Priory School . By the mid-1960s, the firm was winning commissions across the United States and began to open additional offices, starting with San Francisco in 1966 for the design of a library at Stanford University and Dallas in 1968 for the master planning and design of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport . Also in 1968, HOK launched its interior design practice. That year, HOK expanded into Washington, D.C. , after winning

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