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Kenan Stadium returns to natural grass after six years of turf

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Kenan Memorial Stadium undergoes renovations on Tuesday, Mar. 8, 2025. The stadium is getting new turf ahead of the 2025-2026 football season.

The grass is getting greener in Kenan Stadium. 

After six years with turf, the stadium is returning to a grass field. The transition, which includes excavating 3,000 to 4,000 tons of gravel and installing 67,000 square feet of sod, is expected to be complete by the end of March. 

Following the December hire of former NFL coach Bill Belichick, the new staff wanted to return to grass. 

“With the coaching change, we had a new staff that comes in,” Casey Carrick, assistant athletic director for facilities and turf management, said. “[After] talking with the staff, their preference was to play on natural grass, so that played a really big key in it.”

The coaching change wasn’t the only component in the decision. The turf was reaching the end of its lifespan, an expected symptom of the synthetic field, so the project isn’t starting from scratch. 

With this in mind, the crew left a lot of things in place from its original grass field. The main irrigation lines are still in the field as well as the drainage system.

"We didn’t have to rebuild all that this time," Carrick said.

The decision also boiled down to safety. 

“Natural grass is a safer playing surface than artificial surface,” Carrick said. “I think the coaching staff realizes that and knows that just from their time being in football, whether it be college or NFL. So, that’s the major advantage of having a natural grass field, especially here in North Carolina where we’re really able to grow quality grass year-round.”

The field’s appearance will mimic the look of Kenan’s grass field from 2017-2019, and keep a synthetic turf perimeter for high-traffic areas.

This project is being funded by The Rams Club and overseen by the Facilities Department of Carolina Athletics. Carolina Green, a construction company out of Indian Trail, N.C., is contracting this renovation. 

Carolina Green has a long-standing relationship with UNC Athletics, having worked on projects including Kenan’s original transition to turf and the temporary transitions to grass for international soccer games over the past two summers.

“[Carolina Athletics is] always putting out a high-level product,” Chad Price, president of Carolina Green, said. “So we're happy to be part of that process.”

Grass in Kenan will increase the versatility of the stadium, from the possibility of hosting concerts to painting field designs for special games. With grass, Kenan isn't limited

"I'm excited for our whole entire grounds team to get to be a part of this process," Ryan Anderson, director of athletic grounds and turf management, said. "And we get to show off our skills and abilities, even more so than just on the fields we already have."

But its versatility might close the gates to daily public access, which was a benefit of the turf field. Fans could enter the stadium and go on the field outside of game time. 

Grass requires higher levels of maintenance, which raises the question whether the stadium will remain open. Staff will have to mow, water and fertilize the grass as needed. They will also have to repair the field after games. 

This means students and visitors' ability to go on the field as they wish might be in jeopardy.

“ The athletic department understands how important it is that Kenan's been open for years, and people run the steps and come eat lunch in there and things like that," Carrick said. "I think we're taking all that into account when we're trying to figure out how to keep the field safe, but also allow people to still do what they want to do in there."

This transition is a full-circle moment for the stadium. Kenan had a grass field every year since its opening in 1927, until the switch to synthetic turf.

Now, the football program is going back to its roots. 

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“We’re going on almost 100 years of football there, and all but the last six years it was played on natural grass," Carrick said. "So, I'm really excited to get back to that."

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com