Proposed Ohio state law is set to make Cincinnati Bengals' massive offseason project a short-lived success

The Cincinnati Bengals spent all offseason installing a new artificial turf , and it might be out of their control for how long they'll get to use it.

Ohio state lawmakers will be introducing a bill next Tuesday, July 30 that would require all professional sports teams in the state to play on surfaces of at least 90% natural grass .

The Bengals recently concluded the installation of their new $1 million surface after having the same field surface since 2018. This bill would require the club to make another change.

Cincinnati opted for a FieldTurf CORE system for the upcoming season back in February. The franchise also had a FieldTurf surface from 2004-2011. It's a notable change from their previous slit-film turf surface, which has been promptly phased out of the NFL due to the number of injuries it has helped caused.

Player safety is precisely why state lawmakers are in support of this move, and those who work in the industry do as well.

“I think it’s a strong statement. I support it 100%,” said Cincinnati Reds Medical Director Dr. Tim Kremchek . “We did an internal study of all of our athletes that tore their ACLs, and I think it was 90% that tore their ACLs on field turf.

The data says this is the right move, and in the long-term that should prove to be the case. But the Bengals have to be at least a little perturbed at this news. Changing fields twice in a year's time is a tall endeavor, and if they had any forewarning of new legislation occurring this year, they probably wouldn't have spent all that money on a field that will soon have to be replaced.

How soon the Bengals would have to replace their field is unknown, but if the bill does end up passing, expect to see more changes to Paycor Stadium in the near future.

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