In April, Voxitatis wrote about a new artificial turf field at Morton High School in Morton, Ill., and interviewed several directors of national-class marching bands. The consensus among them was that the vast majority of high school marching band festivals are performed on artificial turf and have been for several years.
We consider here the regional, super-regional, and national competitions being conducted by the Bands of America organization this year, which is the organization’s 40th year in service to high school music programs across the country. We found that every single festival was being conducted on artificial turf surfaces. The 21 festivals this fall will take place at 20 different locations, and none of them will be marched on natural grass.
| Date, Location | Institution | Facility Name | Surface / Link | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 19, Clarksville, Tenn. | Austin Peay State University | Governor’s Stadium | FieldTurf XT | 2014 |
| Sept 19, Monroeville, Pa. | Gateway High School | Antimarino Stadium | Astroplay turf | 2003 |
| Sept 26, Austin, Tex. | Round Rock ISD | Kelly Reeves ISD Athletic Complex | artificial turf (also) | Before 2005 |
| Sept 26, Bowling Green, Ohio | Bowling Green State University | Doyt Perry Stadium | FieldTurf (also) | 2007 |
| Sept 26, McAllen, Tex. | McAllen ISD | McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium | artificial turf (also) | Renovated in 2014 |
| Oct 3, Conroe, Tex. | Conroe ISD | Woodforest Bank Stadium | artificial turf | 2008 |
| Oct 3, Dayton, Ohio | Dayton Board of Education | Welcome Stadium | Astroturf | 1974 |
| Oct 3, Powder Springs, Ga. | McEachern High School | Cantrell Stadium | artificial turf | Unknown |
| Oct 10, Arlington, Tex. | University of Texas – Arlington | Maverick Stadium | FieldTurf | Built 1979 |
| Oct 10, Winston-Salem, N.C. | Wake Forest University | assume – BB&T Field | FieldTurf | 2006 |
| Oct 10, Jacksonville, Ala. | Jacksonville State University | Burgess-Snow Field | artificial turf | 2005 |
| Oct 16, St Louis, Mo. | St Louis Rams | Edward Jones Dome | Magic Carpet Astro Turf | Built 1995 |
| Oct 17, Newark, Del. | University of Delaware | Tubby Raymond Field | Synthetic Turf | 2009 |
| Oct 23, Indianapolis, Ind. (regional) | Indianapolis Colts | Lucas Oil Stadium | FieldTurf | 2008 |
| Oct 24, Long Beach, Calif. | Long Beach City College | Veterans Memorial Stadium | artificial turf (also) | Unknown |
| Oct 30, Atlanta, Ga. | Atlanta Falcons, Ga. St. Univ. | Georgia Dome | FieldTurf (also) | 2011 |
| Oct 30, San Antonio, Tex. | City of San Antonio | Alamodome | AstroTurf (also) | 2013 |
| Oct 31, St George, Utah | Dixie State University | Hansen Stadium | FieldTurf | 2011 |
| Nov 7, Tacoma, Wash. | City of Tacoma | tentative – Tacoma Dome | artificial turf | 2006 |
| Nov 7, American Canyon, Calif. | Napa Valley Unified SD | American Canyon High School | synthetic turf | Unknown |
| Nov 11, Indianapolis, Ind. (Grand Nationals) | Indianapolis Colts | Lucas Oil Stadium | FieldTurf | 2008 |
