Researchers work to grow grass that will offer the same level playing field for athletes at the various soccer venues that will be used during the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Michigan State University lead research associate Ryan Bearss and students drop soccer balls on several experimental patches of turf to determine whether their bounce meets regulation height.The United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 World Cup holding games in 16 cities.
John Sorochan was an undergrad at the time and helped with the history-making project. He says he remembers being nervous trying to drive his mower straight down the field because of the amount of eyes on him"We're mowing back and forth, I had to keep stopping to hand clippings of the grass to the fans.”
So, Rogers and Sorochan, who’s now a turfgrass scientist at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and their teams are studying how to manage 16 pitches in several different climates to make sure athletes don’t have to worry about the ground underneath them. In one experiment, a group of MSU students pack different levels of sand between asphalt and a layer of turf grass. They then drop a soccer ball on the grass and measure the sound of its bounce.
"All of this research is enabling us to have a legacy of research that will go and hopefully continue beyond 2026 but that will help professional soccer stadiums all over the world to professional baseball and NFL fields to college to even little city park and rec fields,” Sorochan said.
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