Following the Steelers 23-9 demolition of the Cleveland Browns last Sunday, not everyone was happy. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and kicker Chris Boswell were noticeably concerned with the field conditions at Acrisure Stadium. For those who watch the Steelers regularly, it should come as no surprise the field is in bad shape. Pittsburgh uses natural grass, and it's torn up in large part because college football and high school football teams use the field along with the professionals. Typically it holds up into mid-December at least, but this season has exposed just how unprepared the Steelers are for an avoidable mistake.
The Steelers use natural grass, rather than turf, which is a step in the right direction. Turf tends to cause more injuries while natural grass, which at the very least, won't be a proponent of season-ending ailments. Look no further than Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, where the Giants and Jets play. But why does the Steelers grass look so much worse than other stadiums who employ the product or even turf?
Well, Pittsburgh's issue when compared to those other stadiums is twofold. First, most stadiums use a version of hybrid grass, which blends natural grass with synthetic fibers to create a more resilient and durable playing surface. Acrisure Stadium used to have this product, but got rid of it because, you guessed it, the field didn't hold up. The second problem is the most obvious – too many teams play at Acrisure Stadium in a short timespan. Natural grass can only survive in this part of the country for so long, and that lifespan decreases every time two teams play a game on it. This includes high school, college and professional.
Should the Steelers kick Pitt out of Acrisure Stadium, and can they?
One solution floated by pundits and even former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is a simple one – force Pitt out of Acrisure and onto an on-campus stadium. Unfortunately for Big Ben, that's not so simple.
“And the only thing I can think of is — and I’ve been saying this for a while — I don’t think Pitt should play there anymore. . . . I’m saying this for Pitt’s sake as well. I firmly believe that Pitt should put like a 35,000-person stadium up [in] Oakland. Pack that thing, because when you’ve got 65,000 or 70,000 in Acrisure and it’s only half full, what’s that look like? . . . Put a 25,000-person stadium and then have it just bumping, crazy, loud. Fans everywhere. The students won’t to drive anywhere, they can walk . . . to the stadium, walk to the game, walk back to their dorms," Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast.
That sounds great in theory, but considering how much time Roethlisberger has spent in the city – and notably at some bars in Oakland – I'm surprised he's unfamiliar with the layout. There is no room to build a stadium in Oakland, which is filled with school buildings, bars and dilapidated apartments for college students.
Kicking Pitt out of Acrisure also ignores history. The Steelers tried to pitch a stadium of their own to the city, which would've been funded by taxpayer money. That did not go through, but thanks to a little help from Pitt (and an agreement that the teams would share a stadium), the Steelers got their tax break. The stadium itself is owned by the county, not the Steelers. The Rooneys don't have all the control here.
Who's really to blame for the Steelers turf debacle?
The Steelers should have a bone to pick with Pitt and any WPIAL teams that have played on the Acrisure Stadium grass so far this season. The schedule hasn't done them any favors, as Pitt has already played four home games this season. The Steelers are re-sodding the field, as they play the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night and don't play another home game until Sunday night, Oct. 26 against the Green Bay Packers. Ideally, that should be enough time for the groundskeepers to, for lack of a better term, get their s**t together.
But, if we're going to blame anyone for this mess, it has to be the Steelers. Pittsburgh's playing surface has been an issue for years, but the Rooney's have skimped on better grass, gone away from hybrid grass despite evidence it works better than the natural product, and signed on to share a stadium with Pitt and high school teams back in 2001. This is on them. They also, ultimately, are the ones who hired the groundskeepers! Everything goes through the Steelers, as they are the primary product which plays on that field. Everyone knows it.
At the end-of-year survey conducted by the NFLPA in 2024, the Steelers ranked 28th out of 32 teams. While Mike Tomlin received high marks, the Rooney family's ownership got a D, while facilities like the locker room (D) and weight room (C+) were graded lowly. The Steelers received a C- for their treatment of families and a C+ for nutrition. Does this sound like a franchise that would go the extra mile to keep players safe, and improve their own natural grass?
I rest my case.