Soccer United Council survey (Or: Let's Discuss MLS' Calendar Some More)

LA Gunners?

 

so, what's the weather doing in quebec?

 

ever take the toesl?

 

IT'S ALMOST OVER!!!

 

Now I know why my grandfather left for Vancouver.

 

A really interesting article with TFC's groundskeeper about the trials of getting the surface ready for their game this past weekend:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/tfc-groundskeeper-im-battling-mother-nature/

TLDR: This winter was awful for the grass and the season already starts as early as it possibly can.

 

So not even the Cadillac of turf management systems, used in the richest sports league in the world, on a field that is only used 10 times (plus playoffs) a year, can withstand (even the beginning of, let alone all of) North American winters to provide a pristine playing surface. Well I'm convinced. Time to swap the calendar.

 

“It is a virtual impossibility to play games in this country and in Canada in February,”

.... just going to leave that there.

 

Wow. That's quite a turnaround from "It's not a matter of it, but when". But like I said, Garber says lots of things.

------RM

 

Well, given these comments and the testimony from Toronto's guy ...

 

This is why other sports - football, baseball, have played indoors in Toronto and Montreal. TFC should have played that first game in Rogers Center. Maybe every game until April.
If you listened to the naysayers the entire MLS schedule would have to be played between May and September.

 

Any schedule that requires multiple teams to move out of their own stadiums to play multiple games is a schedule that really needs to be reexamined.

 

So you are for a shorter season?

 

Of course Rogers Centre wasn't available for use, nor was it available on the 15th.

 

Are multiple teams currently playing multiple games not in their own stadium (due to weather I mean, we know San Jose is playing 2 games in bigger stadiums this summer)?

 

Also, Skydome Rogers Centre is converting to a grass surface by 2017 (2016 if the BMO field renovation is done on schedule).

Once that happens it will be incapable of hosting Soccer/Football, since extending the seats would destroy the grass.

So the status quo is what we have to work with, other than perhaps using pesticides which are currently banned. to increase grass quality or perhaps move up a week or two.

In Short. An early March to late November season is the window we have to work with, now and (barring climate change) forever.

 

I think everyone is missing the obvious solution here.. MLS should require all teams that are located in a cold climate to have a retractable roof. That way you can have the roof open on clear and sunny days so the field can be grass and closed on snowy/cold days so that the league can finally play fall-spring.

That's totally not expensive, right? Can't be more than a couple million.

 

The better answer is just to make Canadians have their own damned league and move all teams US teams to warm weather cities

/awaits internet violence

 

This isn't serious, right? The lack of NY, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia would seriously hurt the league's TV $ prospects.

 

No it's not serious.

Still, I ran to the sun in 2013 - leaving the PNW for Austin. Don't know what's wrong with the rest of you.

 

Other people's money
It's only other people's money
Other people's mo-o-o-ney!
It's only other people's mo-ney

 

Dude...don't tell people about how awesome Texas is....last thing we need is more yanks a comin down here