The Ohio State University – Ohio Stadium
Project Overview
Ahead of the 2026 season, The Motz Group returned to Ohio Stadium to install a new playing surface for Ohio State University, Shaw Sports Turf’s Forge Series™ system powered by GAME ON® technology. It’s the second time in four years that Motz has led a full turf replacement inside the Horseshoe, having installed the stadium’s previous surface in 2022. The 2026 project called for a complete removal of the existing field and installation of a new system engineered to meet the NFL’s newly established playing-surface standards, all within the tight window between Ohio Stadium’s summer concert schedule and the Buckeyes’ season opener.
The Situation
Motz’s work with Ohio Stadium goes back to 2022, when the crew installed the field that would go on to host the Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship season. The 2026 replacement coincided with evolving playing-surface standards across football. The NFL introduced new field certification requirements, while synthetic turf systems continued to advance around performance, consistency, and installation efficiency. The new Forge Series system brought those developments to the Ohio Stadium installation. Ohio State opted to modernize the surface, and Motz returned to complete the replacement, building on its familiarity with the venue from the 2022 installation.
The Play
The Motz crew removed the existing field and installed the new Forge Series system from the ground up. Forge is one of a portfolio of Shaw systems built around GAME ON, a manufacturing process that tufts yard lines, hash marks, numbers, and logos directly into the turf at the factory instead of cutting and gluing them in on site. By reducing the need for preparation of the graphics, lines, numbers, etc. inside the stadium, GAME ON helps create a more efficient installation process with less downtime for the field.
The Win
CONSISTENT PLAYING SURFACE
The finished installation provides a consistent playing surface from sideline to sideline, designed for the demands of games, practices, and stadium events.
NFL-CALIBER STANDARDS
Forge Series was engineered to meet the NFL’s newly established playing-surface certification requirements, giving Ohio Stadium a system built to the same benchmark used at the professional level.
BUILT-IN BRANDING FLEXIBILITY
Integrating graphics and markings during manufacturing also creates flexibility for future design updates and themed-game branding while reducing the need for traditional on-site cut-in graphics.
The Motz Group and Shaw Sports Turf are not endorsed by The Ohio State University.
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Interested in starting a project? Have questions about our process and products? Wherever you are in planning your dream field, we’re ready to walk through your specific needs, answer any questions you have, and talk through how our team of experts will be there to guide you every step of the way.
