NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - NFL greats Troy Aikman and Warren Moon never played on it, but they each have a piece of it, and you may be able to buy in soon too.

What the former quarterbacks have invested in is FieldTurf Inc., a maker of artificial playing surfaces that is slowly heading toward an initial public offering.

Montreal-based FieldTurf Inc. spokesman Darren Gill said Monday the company will probably sell stock to the public in an initial public offering (IPO) within a year.

"We don't have a specific timeline, but we are actively progressing towards an IPO on a U.S. market," he told CNN/Money.

FieldTurf, which counts Nike (NKE: Research, Estimates) as one of its partners, produces an artificial grass that has found a home on about 1,000 professional, collegiate and recreational fields across the United States, according to the company.

Gill said Nike is providing the rubber substance used as a base material for the turf, but doesn't own a financial stake in the company.

But a number of former NFL players, including Aikman, Moon, Randall Cunningham, Bernie Kozar, Bubby Brister and others, have invested in the company.

Some facilities now using field turf include the Atlanta Falcon's Georgia Dome, the Detroit Lions' Ford Field, and the Meadowlands complex, shared by the New York Giants and New York Jets -- all teams in the NFL.

It's also used at the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Tropicana Field and the Minnesota Twins' Metrodome in Major League Baseball.

And this year the company is scheduled to install the surface in 300 additional locations, according to FieldTurf's Gill.

It may not be Carl Spackler's perfect playing surface, but FieldTurf has found a market.

The surface's base is comprised of sand and the rubber particles from Nike with plastic-like blades making up the "grass."

Artificial surfaces such as FieldTurf and its predecessor, AstroTurf, have long been attractive to club owners since they need little maintenance and hold their form through heavy use.

But AstroTurf has often been blamed for an increased risk of joint injuries.

FieldTurf claims to cut down on those injuries by allowing athletes to pivot on the surface when they plant either foot.

Gill declined to detail any of the company's financial results, or what it might do with the proceeds from an IPO.

But he did say FieldTurf, which began installing its turf on soccer fields in 1993 and put the surface on Nebraska University's football stadium in 1999, is profitable.

Gill added that the company charges $4.50 a square foot to install its turf, and installation on a typical college surface of about 80,000 square feet, costs about $400,000.