CINCINNATI — When the Bengals return to the gridiron this fall, they'll be playing on a brand new surface: nearly $1 million worth of upgraded artificial turf at Paycor Stadium.
Hamilton County Commissioners in February gave the project the green light as part of the large-scale improvement funding approved last winter. The Bengals said the decision to change the field turf was due to player safety and performance data.
The team also described FieldTurf as a monofilament product, which is consistent with NFL recommendations.
Out of 30 NFL stadiums across the U.S., Paycor Stadium is one of 15 that have a synthetic surface. It is also the only pro venue in Ohio that does not have natural grass.
"Having done the Reds for 28 years, and high school football for 30 years, college football for 30 years and soccer, the players to a T — high school, college and professional — all would rather play on natural grass," said Dr. Timothy Kremcheck, orthopedic surgeon and Reds team physician.
Kremcheck spoke with WCPO to weigh in on non-contact lower body injuries sustained on real grass fields versus artificial turf.
"Everybody talks about ankle injuries, ACLs as contact injuries in football and most — 80% of them — aren't. They're non-contact injuries. These are injuries where your foot is on the ground and it doesn't give," Kremcheck said. "It gets caught — somebody's foot is on it — it gets caught in the turf or it gets stuck in a gym floor, whatever it may be and your body twists and all the weight and all the force goes all the way up from your foot all the way up to your ankle, knee and in some cases your hip and lower back so anytime that you've got something that stops you from twisting and turning it can be a devastating injury."
While the topic is unsettled, nationwide studies argue athletes have a higher propensity for those injuries when playing on synthetic surfaces. Two Ohio lawmakers cited those statistics Tuesday when introducing a new bill that targets turf fields in the state.
Republican Rep. Rodney Creech of West Alexandria penned House Bill 605. It would require that the playing surface of a professional sporting stadium be comprised of not less than 90% natural grass.
At a press conference in the Ohio Statehouse, Creech said his top priority is players' safety.
"There are almost three times as many lower extremity injuries on turf rather than on grass," he said. "The rate of ankle injuries is six times as high and more serious concussions are associated with turf than grass according to the National Center for Health research."
Creech was supported by Democratic cosponsor Rep. Terrence Upchurch of Cleveland and Andrew Morris, who serves as public policy counsel with the NFL Players Association.
"This is a kind of common sense piece of legislation that speaks to worksite safety," Morris said.
The measure would only apply to game fields, not practice ones. The Bengals currently train on natural grass.
In the bill's introduced version, there are no penalties or deadlines laid out.
WCPO reached out to the Bengals for comment on the proposed legislation. A spokesperson declined an interview, instead telling us per a 2023 NFL/NFLPA report, for the second time in three years, data collected by a joint NFL/NFL Players Association committee showed no significant difference in the rate of non-contact lower-extremity injuries incurred by players on synthetic turf versus natural grass.
Reps. Creech and Upchurch said the bill only focuses on professional stadiums, but they welcome discussion in the fall when lawmakers return for legislative session.
"The statement made by (HB 605) is going to trickle down and is going to trickle down and help our younger kids stay safe," said Kremcheck. "I can't tell you how many injuries that I see every fall — in soccer, in football — that I believe were caused by artificial turf."
