Giants, Jets have installed new turf at MetLife Stadium, Giants practice facility
The Giants and Jets have installed new turf at MetLife Stadium, and the Giants replaced the indoor turf at their practice facility to match.
The “monofilament” turf, which is similar to the Seattle Seahawks’ surface at Lumen Field, is already down and ready for the April 17 start of their offseason program, a source said.
Not only that: Giants co-owner John Mara said he hopes long-term to progress toward a grass field, or at least a hybrid, for the stadium’s NFL games.
He knows the stadium will need a grass pitch for the 2026 World Cup.
“It would have to go down for the World Cup,” Mara said. “I foresee a day — my hope is that we can get to a day some point in the future that we can have a grass field that we’re able to maintain with two different teams and all the other events. I think we can get there at some point. Maybe it’s a hybrid product or something.”
NFL players, including the union, had complained loudly about MetLife Stadium’s turf due to rampant player injuries occurring on the surface.
It was one of several stadiums the union called out as well below standard due to their “slit film” turf, including the stadiums of the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals.
“The slit film playing surface has statistically higher in-game injury rates compared to all other surfaces for each of the following: non-contact injuries, missed time injuries, lower extremity injuries, foot and ankle injuries,” NFLPA president JC Tretter wrote in November.
The union called for all NFL teams to switch permanently to grass in the interest of player health. The Giants and Jets didn’t go there just yet.
But they’ve installed new turf — the Jets didn’t change their practice facility surface, since they replaced it a couple of years ago. And Mara’s long-term hope is that they’ll move toward a natural surface down the road.
