TURFGRASS RESEARCH
The FIFA indoor simulator building at University of Tennessee out with the bold vision for 16 stadiums— nearly a third of which would be indoor stadiums.
“ Alan had the vision that he wanted evidence-based research data, and he asked me to lead that,” said Sorochan.“ I agreed; but it’ s a really big project that would need more than one university. So UT became the lead and we subcontract Michigan State— but we’ re 50 / 50 on the research. As we approach this project, we work together.”
By 2019, Sorochan was having regular meetings with Ferguson; Kaj Heyral, group leader infrastructure management for FIFA; and John“ Trey” Rogers, Ph. D., professor of turfgrass management, MSU. The group had outlined timelines and initiatives, but had really just begun brainstorming concepts when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. While FIFA’ s focus had to shift to whether there would even be a 2022 World Cup in Qatar, researchers at UT and MSU had to move forward with their efforts to identify the best possible playing surfaces for 2026.
With that in mind, the researchers at UT and MSU looked at temporary surfaces that allow for expedited installation and removal. As such, the focus was always on a shallow pitch profile.
SIMULATING VENUE CONDITIONS The research team wanted to simulate the indoor conditions of the domed stadiums, so FIFA built a 5,000-square-foot simulator dome at UT. The facility is outfitted with grow lights and climate control, which allows researchers to look at growing grass with zero sunlight( 100 % artificial light).
“ What we’ re doing inside is taking a lot of the general knowledge that we have for managing grass, and applying it to an environment we consider a microclimate,” said Rhys Fielder, project research lead at UT, whose focus has been on indoor testing for the domed stadiums.“ We are removing the sun and natural environmental elements from the equation.”
According to Fielder, initial research focused on determining the amount of artificial light needed to maintain high-end growth and high-performing fields over the course of a six- to seven-week period from the time the grass is installed to the end of the tournament. sportsfieldmanagementonline. com April 2025 | SportsField Management
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