From a groundbreaking Major League Baseball partnership to Olympic field hockey designations and record-setting attendance at unconventional venues, AstroTurf cemented its position across multiple sports while expanding relationships with organizations at every competitive level.
The company’s 2025 trajectory included high-profile installations for entertainment-focused baseball teams, renewed commitments from national governing bodies, and continued presence at Grand Slam tennis events through its Laykold court surface brand. Each milestone reinforced a corporate strategy emphasizing versatility, performance consistency, and cross-sport applicability.
Major League Baseball Formalizes Six-Decade Relationship
June brought the announcement that reshaped the company’s baseball presence when MLB designated AstroTurf as its Official artificial Turf Partner. The multi-year agreement formalized a relationship dating back to 1966, when the Houston Astros hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers on the first artificial surface used in professional baseball.
Aaron Klotz, the company’s Director of Baseball, characterized the partnership as validation of years of product development. The Diamond Series system, engineered specifically for baseball applications, served as the cornerstone of the agreement. The technology addresses sport-specific demands through differentiated pile heights and fiber compositions that replicate clay characteristics in base paths while maintaining grass-like properties throughout outfield zones.
The partnership gained immediate visibility through the 2025 World Series, which featured the Toronto Blue Jays competing at Rogers Centre on a Diamond Series installation. The Fall Classic marked the twelfth time AstroTurf surfaces have hosted World Series competition, continuing a championship presence spanning multiple generations of artificial turf technology.
Bristol Motor Speedway Transformation Sets Attendance Record
The most ambitious demonstration of AstroTurf’s installation capabilities occurred on August 2, when NASCAR’s Bristol Motor Speedway hosted a regular-season MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds. The Speedway Classic required transforming the high-banked racing oval into a professional-grade baseball diamond within a ten-day window.
According to press materials released following the event, the Speedway Classic drew 91,032 fans, establishing a new attendance record for MLB regular-season games and eclipsing a mark that had stood since 1954. The broadcast reached 2.4 million viewers despite a two-hour rain delay that tested the surface’s drainage capabilities under real-world conditions.
Following the event, MLB donated the playing surface to East Tennessee State University, extending the installation’s utility beyond the single showcase game. The donation exemplified how temporary high-profile installations can benefit educational institutions after serving their primary purpose.
Savannah Bananas Partnership Brings Diamond Series to Entertainment Baseball
The convergence of athletic performance and fan entertainment found expression through AstroTurf’s partnership with the Savannah Bananas, announced in February. The installation at Historic Grayson Stadium provided the viral sports entertainment organization with a surface tailored to their unconventional style of play.
Jesse Cole, the Bananas’ owner, emphasized how the Diamond Series characteristics enabled performance elements previously impossible on natural grass. The consistent ball response allows players to execute trick plays involving bounces between legs, around backs, and other acrobatic movements central to the Banana Ball format. Head Coach Tyler Gillum described the installation as transformative for the organization’s preparation and performance capabilities.
The partnership addressed practical considerations alongside entertainment value. Jared Orton, President of the Savannah Bananas, noted that the artificial surface enables year-round programming, including games, camps, clinics, and tournaments at the Savannah venue. The reduced maintenance requirements freed organizational resources for fan engagement initiatives, aligning with the team’s stated “Fans First” philosophy.
AstroTurf completed the installation within a compressed timeline, demonstrating the capability for rapid deployment that the Bananas organization specifically praised. The artificial surface now supports the team’s expanded home game schedule, which includes roughly 30 games at Grayson Stadium.
Field Hockey Commitment Extends Through Los Angeles 2028
The International Hockey Federation announced in June that Sport Group, represented by AstroTurf and Polytan brands, would supply playing surfaces for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The nomination continues a relationship between AstroTurf and Olympic field hockey that began at the 1976 Montreal Games, where the company provided the first artificial surface used for hockey at that level of competition.
Melissa Twist, Director of Field Hockey for the company, described the LA28 designation as particularly meaningful given the domestic setting. The agreement encompasses three fields: one competition surface, one warm-up area, and one training pitch, along with associated shock pad systems. Research and development for the Poligras LA28 turf system is currently underway.
The Olympic nomination followed a March announcement that AstroTurf renewed its sponsorship of USA Field Hockey. Simon Hoskins, USA Field Hockey’s Executive Director, characterized the artificial turf brand as the industry’s best and emphasized the importance of the relationship as preparations for the Los Angeles Games accelerate.
The renewed partnership builds on a collaborative history, including the 2023 installation of an Olympic-specification surface at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. That facility now serves as the training home for U.S. national teams and provides athletes with preparation opportunities on surfaces matching international competition standards.
LA Galaxy Partnership Expands Soccer Presence
AstroTurf extended its footprint in Major League Soccer through a marketing partnership with the LA Galaxy, announced as the company became the club’s Official artificial Turf and Hybrid Turf Partner. The agreement builds on existing relationships with Dignity Health Sports Park, where the five-time MLS champions play their home matches.
Carl Capellas, Director of Soccer for AstroTurf, framed the partnership as an opportunity to demonstrate commitment to a sport experiencing sustained popularity growth across North America. The global recognition of the Galaxy brand provides visibility for turf technologies to international audiences following the club’s activities.
Tom Braun, President of Business Operations for the LA Galaxy, noted alignment between the organizations’ values regarding quality, innovation, and sustainability. AFE Sports, the company’s exclusive Southern California distributor, manages artificial turf requirements for the Galaxy under the partnership framework.
Community and Collegiate Installations Continue
While headline partnerships dominated 2025 coverage, the company maintained installation activity at educational and community levels. Projects included Diamond Series fields for collegiate programs and RootZone 3D systems for high schools and universities across multiple regions.
The Willie Mays Park restoration in Fairfield, Alabama, demonstrated community-focused applications. The renovation transformed a deteriorated youth baseball facility in the Hall of Famer’s hometown into a playable surface for local organizations, including Miles College, the A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club, and area youth leagues. Major League Baseball’s charity auction at the 2024 Winter Meetings raised funds supporting the project.
University installations during the year included field hockey surfaces at UMass Lowell and football fields at institutions ranging from Calvin University to the University of Colorado. Each project incorporated proprietary technologies, including RootZone infill encapsulation and Trionic fiber blends that the company positions as distinguishing characteristics from competing artificial turf systems.
Corporate Positioning Emphasizes Research Foundation
Throughout the 2025 announcements, company representatives consistently emphasized research partnerships underlying product development. The collaboration with the University of Tennessee’s Center for Athletic Field Safety, spanning over a decade, provides biomechanical validation for safety claims central to marketing messaging.
The company’s parent organization, Sport Group, maintains a positioning around sustainability initiatives, including the development of the industry’s first turf recycling facility capable of processing EPDM rubber materials. Corporate communications reference USDA BioPreferred certification and membership in the Green Sports Alliance as evidence of environmental commitment.
As 2025 concludes, AstroTurf enters 2026 with expanded official partnership status across baseball, field hockey, and soccer, and validated installation capabilities at unconventional venues. The year’s trajectory suggests strategic emphasis on formalizing relationships that previously existed through product usage alone, converting implicit endorsement into explicit partnership frameworks that provide marketing advantages and collaborative development opportunities.
For organizations evaluating artificial surface options, the 2025 partnership announcements provide reference points regarding which brands professional and national governing bodies have chosen for their facilities. The distinction between marketing claims and independently verified performance characteristics remains important for facility planners, but the breadth of 2025 agreements indicates sustained confidence in the company’s Diamond Series baseball turf systems and multi-sport surface technologies from organizations operating at championship levels.
