The turfgrass program at Michigan State University has recently dedicated and focused its research on sports turf management. There are three major areas of research: (1) the indoor turfgrass project, (2) the use of crumb rubber from used tires, and (3) management of high sand-based root zone athletic fields. The indoor turf project stemmed from the 1994 World Cup Soccer Matches involving the installation and maintenance of a portable turfgrass system in the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The majority of the research for this project was completed in a 600-m2 dome constructed on the Michigan State University campus specifically for this project. The crumb rubber project was initiated in 1990 and nine experiments were used to investigate the incorporation of crumb rubber from used tires into the soil profile and at the turf-soil interface of turf systems to improve turfgrass wear tolerance and reduce soil compaction. The sand-based root zone turf project was initiated in 1992 to investigate establishment and management scenarios specific to these areas. A 334-m2 field was constructed to investigate these practices. Initial studies dealt with the establishment of either Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) or perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) with different fertilizer management regimes.