Fox's Holden Says World Cup Grass Fields Will Pressure NFL on Turf

Fox Sports broadcaster Stu Holden said the natural grass pitches being installed at NFL stadiums for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will intensify pressure on the league to abandon synthetic turf, arguing that players will point to the tournament as proof that high-quality grass fields are achievable in those venues. Seven NFL stadiums are converting to natural grass to meet FIFA's mandatory surface standards for the tournament, which begins this summer. Holden made the remarks during a media availability on Friday.

"The fields will play so well that you're gonna have the NFL players continuing to make more noise about why they don't have grass in their stadiums and there's turf, because it can be done," Holden told reporters on a video call. "FIFA has the most stringent, detailed, strict process on what these fields have to play like, because they understand that the grass and the playing surface are the most important part of the game being good. If you don't have a good grass field, that makes it hard to see a good product on the field." He added that natural grass, properly maintained, is something "turf will never be able to replicate."

Roughly half of NFL stadiums currently use synthetic turf. NFLPA Executive Director Lloyd Howell has said that 92 percent of the league's players prefer grass, and the players' association has published polls and studies indicating that natural surfaces carry a lower injury risk than artificial ones. The NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, has maintained that there are no statistically significant differences in lower-extremity injuries or concussions attributable to surface type. The league has no stated plans to mandate natural grass leaguewide.

Late in 2025, the NFL announced that each team would be provided with a library of approved and accredited field standards ahead of the 2026 season. Under that framework, any newly installed surface must immediately meet the standards, while existing fields have two years to comply; both natural grass and synthetic turf fields fall within the scope of the new requirements. Whether the World Cup conversions accelerate any shift in league policy on surface type is expected to become a prominent point of discussion once the tournament concludes.