Each summer, Pittsburgh—home of legendary football dynasties—buzzes with anticipation of the first Steelers home game. This year it’s a late-August preseason matchup against longstanding archrival the Detroit Lions. But true fans know they have something extra to look forward to this season. For the first time since the 1960s, the black and gold is mixing it up on natural turf in its new $250 million home, Heinz Stadium.

The stadium field, 11 truckloads of specially grown athletic bluegrass sod from a New Jersey turf farm, was installed in May on a state-of-the-art heating and drainage system. Since then, it’s been groomed and cared for by a team of professionals, including stadium playing surfaces coordinator and College of Agricultural Sciences graduate Tim Keene. Another Penn Stater with deep roots in this complex feat of engineering is field design consultant and Penn State turfgrass scientist Andy McNitt.

Above: Tim Keene and Andy McNitt (right) inspect the athletic field at Heinz Stadium, the new home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.