For the first time in South America, the Northbridge Bermudagrass gram will be commercially cultivated. The responsible is the Brazilian company Itograss.
The variety is used in arenas such as Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Chiefs) and Fedex Field (Washington Commanders), as well as Orlando City’s Exploria Stadium at MLS.
Northbridge was developed by Oklahoma State University and has Sod Solutions. The species has rapid recovery, high density and good tolerance to cold and shadow.
The first stadium of receiving the grass is the Akron Stadium, from Chivas Guadalajara, Mexico, which underwent complete renovation.
“The Akron Stadium in Guadalajara is the first in Mexico to undergo a complete renovation aimed at the 2026 World Cup (…). Now with the Northbridge Bermudagrass variety,” said Breno Rodrigo Couto, agronomist who led the installation at the stadium.
In Brazil, it studies the adoption of Northbridge to replace the current lawn. The decision should come out after 2025.
“And we will have news soon. There are two varieties of shorts, excellent for Maracanã: Latitude 36 and Northbridge. We are following the technical studies for the definition of which one will be the grass of the stadium after 2025,” said Severiano Braga, CEO of the stadium.
Rodrigo Santos, coordinator of the Itograss Sports Gramstroad Center, points out that the news expands national access to technologies applied to the world’s leading sports centers.
“Northbridge’s arrival in Brazil is a milestone not only for Itograss, but for South American football (…). Now, available for Brazilian stadiums and training centers,” said Santos.
Itograss should begin to market Northbridge Bermudagrass from November 2025. The company serves most of the training centers and arenas in the country.
Today, Itograss has about 90% of the sports lawns market in Brazil. The celebration grass is the most used in high performance fields in the country.
