Argentina and Spain compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, where the playing surface featured OSU-developed Tahoma 31 bermudagrass. Photo credit: Photo by Bryan Berlin/Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Spain and Argentina met July 19 for the FIFA World Cup Trophy at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The championship match concluded the monthlong 2026 tournament, which brought games to 16 cities across North America.
It also gave the Oklahoma State University Turfgrass Team its most visible moment yet.
The final was played on Tahoma 31, a warm-season bermudagrass developed by OSU Agriculture researchers. The variety has become an industry standard for sports complexes because it combines the appearance expected at elite facilities with the durability needed to withstand heavy use.
Three of the World Cup’s 16 host venues used Tahoma 31. Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, hosted four games on the variety, while Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, hosted six. MetLife Stadium hosted eight games, including the final.
Tahoma 31 was not the only OSU-developed grass used during the tournament. NorthBridge, its predecessor, was installed at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico. Together, the two varieties provided the playing surface for 28 of the World Cup’s 104 games. An estimated 1.5 billion people were expected to watch the final.
“Seeing OSU-developed Tahoma 31 bermudagrass being used for the world’s biggest stage in soccer reflects years of research, innovation and dedication by our faculty and scientists to develop turfgrass that delivers exceptional performance, resilience and sustainability,” said Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture. “This achievement showcases how land-grant university research can make a global impact, and it underscores OSU’s commitment to developing solutions that serve communities far beyond our campus.”
Tahoma 31 takes its name from “Tahoma,” a Native American word meaning “frozen water.” The name points to one of the variety’s distinguishing characteristics: winter hardiness. Testing has shown Tahoma 31 to be up to 75% more cold tolerant than other bermudagrass varieties.
Cold tolerance is only part of its appeal. Tahoma 31 also offers a fine texture, dark color, high density and tolerance to drought, shade and wear. Those characteristics allow the grass to adapt to a range of climates and make it suitable for fields that must maintain a consistent playing surface despite frequent use.
Player safety is another important consideration. Yanqi Wu, a professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, said Tahoma 31’s dense, solid stands provide athletes with a stable surface as they run, stop and pivot, helping prevent slips and injuries.
“Once a high-visibility, top-notch stadium that gets a lot of traffic has success with something, things can spread like wildfire,” said Dennis Martin, OSU Extension and research turfgrass specialist. “That’s what we’ve seen with Tahoma 31. The grass is performing, and as long as it continues to perform, I think we’ll continue to see it in those facilities.”
The World Cup was the latest in a series of high-profile appearances for the grass. Tahoma 31 has been used at the U.S. Capitol, the Olympic Games, the PGA Championship and Central Park in New York City. More than 150 golf courses have installed the variety, and dozens of universities use it at their sports complexes.
“Tahoma 31 has been used in many sports and golf facilities in many countries on six continents in the world,” Wu said. “Billions of people have watched this grass perform well on sports fields, especially in the 2026 FIFA Soccer World Cup matches. This is because Tahoma 31 combines fine turfgrass qualities with desirable resistance to some important environmental and biological stresses. It is exciting that it is used for multiple cultural landmarks.”
Professional football players also have taken notice. In the 2026 NFL Players Association report card, players ranked Tahoma 31 as their favorite grass to play on. Fields in Baltimore and Philadelphia received the highest scores, and six of the 10 highest-graded fields used OSU-developed grass.
The World Cup spotlight could lead to additional licensing and research opportunities by giving stadium managers and golf course superintendents a real-world demonstration of the grass under elite competition and heavy traffic.
OSU Agriculture is also working to modernize its turfgrass research facilities through the Agronomy Discovery Center at the Agronomy Research Station. Plans call for a new headhouse, research greenhouse and multipurpose classroom and laboratory building.
Sources: Oklahoma State University Agriculture and Tahoma 31