Soccer on a carpet is a disgrace. Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, and New England: will be at the bottom of the heap as long as they have it. The field on Montreal is laughable but at least they're moving onto grass soon. It's amazing how more people seem to care about pretty streamers and what kind of scarves to put on when it's 80 outside, instead of things that really, really, really hamper the play on the field. You know, the reason we're in the stadium. Those 4 places aren't Moscow....don't tell me whatever you know about the Russian league. None of those MLS places have weather worse than Scotland and they do OK. Top organizations would get it done. Sorry, I forgot that we're MLS fans, and we care more about sponsorships etc. than the sport. Scarlet letter of T on Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, and New England.
No club in Moscow is sharing their field with an American football team. Football (and precipitation) kills grass. End of story, close thread.
Ironically enough, having turf is a competitive advantage for the teams that have it. Other teams that spend millions on aging DPs are afraid to consistently put them on turf fields because they might get injured... Nevermind that study after study has proven that is not the case any longer and that the fear is the result of a period in time when turf was just just carpet and maybe some padding over cement or dirt.
Get your stadium built you slacker. The finances your team puts into paying to play in that racoons nest is holding the league back.
It pains me to say this about DCU, but holy shit how does a DCU fan have the gall to say something about another team's stadium ? .... let alone 4 of them.
Grass is obviously the best option but unfortunately it's not possible in these four markets and we just have to live with it. And as long as they keep the carpet in decent shape it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I assume most people here have played on turf and it does not have the impact on a game some people would have you believe. We have seen astroturf in the early days of the league and that was complete garbage. The stuff we saw in Montreal and in the later years of Giants stadium was a complete disgrace. As long as the turf isn't cut too short and is replaced when it gets beaten down like in the NFL stadiums, it can play just fine. We are just gonna have to live with it.
What football team is playing in Portland? I don't remember if there is one or not. And the Revs simply need a soccer-specific stadium in order to get grass. It's the whole of Cascadia playing on turf and that seems unacceptable simply because it is supposed to be such a hotbed of soccer yet it is all played on carpet. I would hope Portland could get rid if it's football playing tenant and get some real grass there, the entire area is so lush and green it wouldn't be much of an issue. If Toronto can get rid of the carpet, so can these places. Isn't there going to be a football team doing part-time duty in Houston? And that's grass...
Turf a competitve advantage? Hardly, since none of those teams have won any titles. That's the ultimate sign of advantage plus I don't have other tangible stats to refute otherwise. Plus isn't Chicago colder (ground and surface) than any of those coastal cities?
Portland State plays football at JeldWen, it is mere blocks away, and I don't think they have room for a stadium on-campus. In theory, I suppose Portland and Seattle could still switch to grass. Portland might be able to convince PSU and the city to do it. In Seattle's case, the Seahawks don't want to. In Vancouver, BC Place gets used much of the year for trade shows and the like, so unless they had some way to do one of those portable tray operations, grass isn't feasible for the facility. No, it isn't optimal, but the standard of turf is improving. Not the end of the world by any stretch, especially if the clubs and facilities are willing to change it over every four-to-five years.
As noted, PSU uses JeldWen. Portland gets 5.6 inches of rain in Novermber and 5.5 inches in December and only 143 hours of sunshine in that same period (roughly 2.4 hours a day). American Football would just destroy the pitch during that time of the year. Seattle has very similar stats.
Sounders have won three USOCs, or do those not count any more? Also, I'm sure this is a hard concept for a Houston fan, but most expansion teams aren't handed a championship quality team and it takes a number of seasons for them to get good.
I'm not sure Portland State football is why grass is a bad idea at Jeld-Wen, but rather the fact that Jeld-Wen is a built into a giant pit that is essentially on top of the water table. So any time it rains, the last place to dry out in the area is Jeld-Wen. Not to mention the river that runs a few feet below the playing surface.
The stadium did manage to function for a few decades before Astroturf was invented. But I don't know, maybe it was always a swampy disaster.
The Pacific NW's climate is great for growing grass, but not great for developing the deep roots that a grass sports field needs.
Quite true. Given the regular, gentle rain here, there's no need for roots to go deep.The local civic stadium had grass until about 10 years ago. It would typically host a high school game every Friday night, a small college game every other Saturday. If you played through a small shower, it might hold up. But if there was a game played within a few hours of substantial rain, say, something approaching a half-inch in 24 hours, the place was shot for the rest of the fall.
Is Montreal still planning to use grass? Doesn't seem like they have enough time to install the grass and let it settle.
And the "Stupid post of the day" award is hereby presented to you. Please wait until tomorrow to respond and we'll see how long you can keep the title.
question tho. Couldn't the Paulson family afford those heat lamp things that many big Euro clubs use?(ex: Arsenal)
The Swiss, French, Italian, Belgian, Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, and Finish First Divisions all say hi. So do the Costa Rican, Mexican, and Guatemalan First Divisions if you wanted someone closer to home.
it's not a disgrace, but I do wish it would happen, sounders share with seahawks, husky football, high school football, weekend monster truck rallies, and garth brooks concerts. i've walked on it, feels and smells a little rubbery, but a previous poster is right, the texture feels appropriate, and the injury excuse (Beckham), is not very legit.