Grass or turf? Looking back at every Super Bowl playing surface

Every football player dreams of stepping onto a Super Bowl field. Two years ago, however, the field did not reach a Super Bowl standard.

Players on both the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles struggled to keep their footing in Super Bowl LVII. The game was played in Glendale, Arizona, on a natural grass playing surface that is rolled in and out of State Farm Stadium, which has a retractable roof. The slippery field prompted some Eagles players to change their cleats mid-game.

Last year, the Super Bowl went to a new city with a similar playing surface environment.

Las Vegas hosted its first Super Bowl last February when the Chiefs battled the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Like State Farm Stadium, Allegiant Stadium is an indoor venue that rolls a natural grass surface in and out. While there hadn’t been noticeable slipping, the stadium’s Bermuda grass was in horrible shape a month earlier during the Week 18 game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos.

49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw notably tore his Achilles running onto the field during Super Bowl LVIII, but the playing surface itself was mostly a non-factor in the Chiefs' overtime victory.

This year, the Super Bowl will return to artificial turf in New Orleans. The big game is back in the Big Easy, where the Chiefs and Eagles will battle on the synthetic turf at Caesars Superdome.

Before the Chiefs and Eagles run out onto the field for Super Bowl LIX, let’s look back at previous Super Bowl playing surfaces.

How many Super Bowls have been played on turf?

Super Bowl LIX will be the 25th Super Bowl played on turf.

The first 15 Super Bowls to feature turf were played on either Poly-Turf or a variation of AstroTurf. Super Bowl XL in Detroit was the first with a modern turf variant, as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks on Ford Field’s FieldTurf surface. Since then, eight Super Bowls have been played on either FieldTurf, Matrix Turf or other synthetic turf.

Of the first 24 turf Super Bowls, 18 have been played indoors compared to six outside. Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seahawks and Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium was the most recent Super Bowl to be played on turf outdoors.

How many Super Bowls have been played on grass?

Super Bowl LVIII was the 34th Super Bowl played on grass and the fifth Super Bowl to be played on grass indoors.

Three of the prior Super Bowls played on indoor grass were in Glendale (Super Bowls XLII, XLIX and LVII). The only other one was at Houston’s Reliant Stadium for Super Bowl XXXVIII between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers.

Super Bowl playing surfaces

Here is a look at the playing surface for all 59 Super Bowls:

Super Bowl	Teams	Stadium	Location	Playing surface
I	Chiefs vs. Packers	Memorial Coliseum	Los Angeles, Calif.	Grass
II	Packers vs. Raiders	Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Grass
III	Jets vs. Colts	Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Grass
IV	Vikings vs. Chiefs	Tulane Stadium	New Orleans, La.	Grass
V	Colts vs. Cowboys	Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Poly-Turf
VI	Cowboys vs. Dolphins	Tulane Stadium	New Orleans, La.	Poly-Turf
VII	Dolphins vs. Washington	Memorial Coliseum	Los Angeles, Calif.	Grass
VIII	Vikings vs. Dolphins	Rice Stadium	Houston, Texas	AstroTurf
IX	Steelers vs. Vikings	Tulane Stadium	New Orleans, La.	Poly-Turf
X	Cowboys vs. Steelers	Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Poly-Turf
XI	Raiders vs. Vikings	Rose Bowl	Pasadena, Calif.	Grass
XII	Cowboys vs. Broncos	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Monsanto "Mardi Grass" turf
XIII	Steelers vs. Cowboys	Orange Bowl	Miami, Fla.	Grass
XIV	Rams vs. Steelers	Rose Bowl	Pasadena, Calif.	Grass
XV	Raiders vs. Eagles	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Monsanto "Mardi Grass" turf
XVI	49ers vs. Bengals	Pontiac Silverdome	Pontiac, Mich.	AstroTurf
XVII	Dolphins vs. Washington	Rose Bowl	Pasadena, Calif.	Grass
XVIII	Washington vs. Raiders	Tampa Stadium	Tampa, Fla.	Grass
XIX	Dolphins vs. 49ers	Stanford Stadium	Palo Alto, Calif.	Grass
XX	Bears vs. Patriots	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Monsanto "Mardi Grass" turf
XXI	Broncos vs. Giants	Rose Bowl	Pasadena, Calif.	Grass
XXII	Washington vs. Broncos	Jack Murphy Stadium	San Diego, Calif.	Grass
XXIII	Bengals vs. 49ers	Joe Robbie Stadium	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Grass
XXIV	49ers vs. Broncos	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Monsanto "Mardi Grass" turf
XXV	Bills vs. Giants	Tampa Stadium	Tampa, Fla.	Grass
XXVI	Washington vs. Bills	Metrodome	Minneapolis, Minn.	AstroTurf
XXVII	Bills vs. Cowboys	Rose Bowl	Pasadena, Calif.	Grass
XXVIII	Cowboys vs. Bills	Georgia Dome	Atlanta, Ga.	AstroTurf
XXIX	Chargers vs. 49ers	Joe Robbie Stadium	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Grass
XXX	Cowboys vs. Steelers	Sun Devil Stadium	Tempe, Ariz.	Grass
XXXI	Patriots vs. Packers	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Monsanto "Mardi Grass" turf
XXXII	Packers vs. Broncos	Qualcomm Stadium	San Diego, Calif.	Grass
XXXIII	Broncos vs. Falcons	Pro Player Stadium	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Grass
XXXIV	Rams vs. Titans	Georgia Dome	Atlanta, Ga.	AstroTurf
XXXV	Ravens vs. Giants	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, Fla.	Grass
XXXVI	Rams vs. Patriots	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Monsanto "Mardi Grass" turf
XXXVII	Raiders vs. Buccaneers	Qualcomm Stadium	San Diego, Calif.	Grass
XXXVIII	Panthers vs. Patriots	Reliant Stadium	Houston, Texas	Indoor grass
XXXIX	Patriots vs. Eagles	Alltel Stadium	Jacksonville, Fla.	Grass
XL	Seahawks vs. Steelers	Ford Field	Detroit, Mich.	FieldTurf
XLI	Colts vs. Bears	Dolphin Stadium	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Grass
XLII	Giants vs. Patriots	University of Phoenix Stadium	Glendale, Ariz.	Indoor grass
XLIII	Steelers vs. Cardinals	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, Fla.	Grass
XLIV	Saints vs. Colts	Sun Life Stadium	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Grass
XLV	Steelers vs. Packers	Cowboys Stadium	Arlington, Texas	Matrix Turf
XLVI	Giants vs. Patriots	Lucas Oil Stadium	Indianapolis, Ind.	FieldTurf
XLVII	Ravens vs. 49ers	Mercedes-Benz Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Sportturf
XLVIII	Seahawks vs. Broncos	MetLife Stadium	East Rutherford, N.J.	FieldTurf
XLIX	Patriots vs. Seahawks	University of Phoenix Stadium	Glendale, Ariz.	Indoor grass
50	Panthers vs. Broncos	Levi's Stadium	Santa Clara, Calif.	Grass
LI	Patriots vs. Falcons	NRG Stadium	Houston, Texas	FieldTurf
LII	Eagles vs. Patriots	U.S. Bank Stadium	Minneapolis, Minn.	Sportturf
LIII	Patriots vs. Rams	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Atlanta, Ga.	FieldTurf
LIV	49ers vs. Chiefs	Hard Rock Stadium	Miami Gardens, Fla.	Grass
LV	Chiefs vs. Buccaneers	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, Fla.	Grass
LVI	Rams vs. Bengals	SoFi Stadium	Inglewood, Calif.	Matrix Turf
LVII	Chiefs vs. Eagles	State Farm Stadium	Glendale, Ariz.	Indoor grass
LVIII	49ers vs. Chiefs	Allegiant Stadium	Las Vegas, Nev.	Indoor grass
LIX	Chiefs vs. Eagles	Caesars Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Turf Nation S5