Mercedes-Benz Stadium changes artificial surface partner

An official agreement was announced on Tuesday between Mercedes-Benz Stadium and FieldTurf for the latter to become the official artificial surface partner of the brand new stadium that will host the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United.

This is a surprising announcement considering that just over a year ago, AMB Sports & Entertainment (AMBSE) and GreenFields USA announced a partnership to feature GreenFields® MX 3-STAR Turf System at the new stadium. This was supposed to be a revolutionary new system that is featured around the Dutch Eredivisie.

Back in February 2016, Falcons President Rich McKay stated that GreenFields surface offered a safer playing surface for NFL players.

“Our goal is for every feature of this stadium to be a difference maker,” said Rich McKay, President and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons. “Our challenge to GreenFields was to create a turf surface that will not only be the best in the world for professional football and soccer, but will have the durability to maintain top quality over time. They’ve produced a world-class field that is a safer surface for NFL players.”

Safer than the ones featured in Seattle and New England, who feature FieldTurf surfaces. Now, out of nowhere, a new partnership has been announced to have that same surface installed into Mercedes-Benz Stadium, without any reasoning for dropping GreenFields given.

McKay stated on Tuesday after the change that “there was no other choice that made sense for us.”

When asked for comment on the change, an Atlanta United spokesperson said:

“We decided to go with FieldTurf because they better suited our specific needs.”

GreenFields USA was asked for a comment on their previous agreement with AMB Sports & Entertainment, but they could only take a message for future response.