What kind of turf will the NFL use at the Bernabéu? Inside Spain’s first NFL field
The NFL is set to make its debut in Spain this Sunday. This is what went into creating the perfect field surface to endure the impact of the NFL.
The Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders are in Madrid, Spain this weekend to play the NFL’s first-ever game in the country, and they’re set to kick off Sunday from Real Madrid’s famous Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. But of course, this begs the question of what kind of turf will be on the field for the Dolphins and Commanders.
Pictures don’t do the Santiago Bernabéu justice. Incredible tour of the stadium before the first #NFLMadridGame 🏈
— Michael McQuaid (@McQuaidNFL) November 14, 2025
Sunday | Virgin Media Two 14:30 pic.twitter.com/YLYLrKqR3P
The science behind the Bernabéu’s NFL-ready field
The NFL game between the Dolphins and Commanders in Madrid will be played on a stitched hybrid ryegrass surface, the same field Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid use, only reinforced to withstand the literal weight of the NFL.
Nick Pappas, the NFL’s field director, oversees every international surface on the league’s expanding global schedule. There are several different kinds that he expertly explains, including carpet hybrid ryegrass in Dublin, stitched hybrid bluegrass in Berlin, and now, stitched hybrid ryegrass in Madrid. The Bernabéu version is one of the more advanced systems the league uses abroad.
“A machine comes in and drives fibers about 7 inches down into the ground,” Pappas said. Those synthetic fibers make up roughly 7% of the surface and stand vertically within the natural grass, giving players the stability and traction pure grass can’t always deliver.
The field team preparing playing surfaces for international games has a unique challenge to ensure locations are up to @NFL standards ahead of kickoff.
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) November 12, 2025
See the work that NFL Field Director @NPappas23 and his team have done to prepare Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the first ever… pic.twitter.com/ukf4PGfwjT
Why the NFL needs hybrid surfaces abroad
European soccer venues typically use cold-season ryegrass or bluegrass. That’s fine for soccer, where movement is more lateral, open, and less forceful. But for the NFL, it’s a different story.
“Our athletes are very unique in the fact that they’re bigger and stronger and faster than most athletes,” Pappas said. A 300-pound lineman planting, cutting, or driving another 300-pound lineman backward places enormous stress on the turf. “So, the needs of the surface drastically increase when compared to soccer.”
Warm-season Bermuda grass, which is common at many NFL stadiums in the U.S., holds up better, but it’s not ideal for Europe’s climate. That’s why hybrid systems have become the go-to solution for the league overseas.
The Bernabéu’s underground secret
Real Madrid rebuilt the stadium with a futuristic system that stores the entire grass field underground in climate-controlled trays. It isn’t the NFL-specific retractable solution built into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but it’s close enough that the league could adapt it.
One of the coolest things about Santiago Bernabéu Stadium—the newly-revamped home of Real Madrid, and newly-named host venue for a 2025 NFL game—is its insane grass system. The teams that go over there will get a good look (even if they play on the turf). pic.twitter.com/4CmdHbacfN
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 9, 2024
“The Bernabéu … didn’t build it specifically for the NFL, so there was still a lot to figure out,” Pappas said. The main challenge was ensuring enough space for a full NFL field, which is longer than a soccer field.
Ultimately, the NFL concluded that it could use Real Madrid’s natural-hybrid surface and technology rather than installing a separate artificial field.
Around the world: other NFL surfaces this season
The Bernabéu is one of several new stops on the NFL’s international map:
- Dublin’s Croke Park featured a carpet-style hybrid surface rolled into place weeks before the Steelers beat the Vikings.
- Berlin’s Olympiastadion installed a new stitched hybrid bluegrass field for Colts–Falcons.
- Brazil’s São Paulo venue also uses a stitched hybrid system.
- Wembley Stadium in London uses the same carpet-hybrid approach seen in Dublin.
Not every international game has gone smoothly. The NFL still remembers the 2018 fiasco at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, when poor field conditions forced a relocation. Munich’s 2022 game produced rave reviews for the atmosphere, but much less so for the slippery grass.
The Germany experience helped the league insist on hybrid surfaces for its 2023 games in Frankfurt, and now for the new sites in Dublin, Berlin, and Madrid.
“We’ve continued to learn … to ensure the quality on the back end,” Pappas said.
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