Fish Wrap - Feb 2014, Issue 21 1 | Page 9

NFL STADIUMS CHOOSE Latitude 36 & NorthBridge JUSTIN WALLACE Tennessee Titans Latitude 36 and NorthBridge Bermudagrass from the Oklahoma State breeding program came out of the gates with some pretty high accolades after finishing so well in the 2011 NTEP trials. Word of mouth about these two grasses spread around the turfgrass community and at some point, made it to the eyes and ears of some big-time sports turf managers. Less than two years after their release from OSU, the duo ended up on four NFL fields. The Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins made the switch to Latitude 36 while the Kansas City Chiefs moved to NorthBridge. The grasses have many similarities, one of them being exceptional cold hardiness. Transition zone teams have jumped onboard because of their appearance improvements over Patriot, which was an earlier release from Oklahoma State. Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals added Latitude36 mid-way through the 2013 season and will get a full season to test as the 2014 season kicks off shortly. Arrowhead Stadium