It's not all that bad. Besides following DCU I go see in person my local team, the Portland Timbers. The Timbers share their stadium with a baseball team. The field is not grass but field turf. So: - Do I, upon seeing the field every game curse the plastic grass? No, I don't even think about it, or I do only rarely. It's just the field. - Do I throw up when I see the seams? Does the game play differently with the seams? No it doesn't. The ball rolls a bit faster, but the ball doesn't hop up when it crosses a seam. - But there have been a bunch of injuries, right? I haven't noticed one injury that I could even remotely attribute to either the seams or the plastic stuff. - But these are just dirt bag A-league players right? What about a real team playing on that field? True, the team has a couple of former Crew players on it, but this summer the e-Quakes came to town to play an USOC game and they played their first stringers. Other than Ching missing an open net from two feet (literally) the Quakes played like they normally do and beat the Timbers 4-0. The biggest problem that I see is that the configuration of the baseball stadium makes some stands 30 yards or more away from the field of play. Other than that it's just like going to a soccer game anywhere else and that's the important thing!
Thanks for interjecting some perspective from someone who actually knows what its like to see a game in that kind of stadium. It won't stop people from bitching about it though.
I'm honestly more concerned with the loss of the bouncing stands/really good seats than I am the condition of the pitch. Not that that I think the pitch doesn't present a problem, I'm just convinced that they'll find a reasonably adequate solution.
Well you were gonna lose the bouncing stands sooner (with the reconfigured baseball seating) or later (in the new SSS if that ever happens) anyway. So those seats will go but there will remain some excellent seats in RFK.
Hey, lets not get ahead of ourselves. I think KP and the rest of the FO realize what kind of atmosphere the bouncing provides and I would bet they are at least looking into the possibility of having some in the SSS.
Put the whole thing on springs. Not just one section of bouncing stands, a whole stadium that bounces... No, wait...that'll cause beer spillage that isn't related to throwing motions. Bad idea.
Never say never. If the District's building code will allow it, I imagine that will be bouncing sections of some kind at the proposed SSS made to order for BB, SE &, maybe, LN (don't have them now, but why not?). Do you have any idea how long does it take to transform PGE Park after a Beavers game for a Timbers game and vice versa? Do you have any free standing bleachers along the far side of the pitch as have been talked about for our SE & BB supporter groups?
Im not sure that insurers will allow for the "risk" associated with having them. Remember RFK was built in a very different time, a less litigious era, before plastic playgrounds and padded outfield walls at stadiums (although we saw that even padded walls don't help if your name is Gus Frerotte). I would love to keep bouncing seats, but I see it highly unlikely that they can be implemented in today's society.
Also remember that the seats at RFK do not bounce on purpose, it's a by-product of the mechanism that allows the stands to move back for baseball being old and decrepit and unmaintained. Remember they jacked the stands up one off-season (I believe after 135 caved in in 1997). It took us a few months to get them to bounce good again.
The big issue for me is if there is a dirt infield for DCU games. That would truly suck, and to be honest, I'm not sure it would be much better if they put down some kind of temp grass. And I'll believe the "DCU is guaranteed two home weekend games per month" story when the schedules are released. Having mid-week games to accomodate baseball will really hurt attendance, Freddy Factor or not.
Just having baseball in town is going to hurt attendance regardless of the stadium situation. Less family entertainment dollars to spend...baseball has some sections of cheaper tickets, I think we lose some of the fairweather fans to baseball unfortunately.
This is what I was trying to spell out in the initial post. Let me say it again: -There is no dirt infield in Portland. There doesn't have to be one in DC. -The covering for the infield for soccer games is pretty good. It doesn't mess up the flow of play. It doesn't cause injuries. Now who knows, maybe the grounds crew at RFK sucks and you'll get this ragged-ass covering that messes up play and looks awful. What I'm saying here is that it doesn't have to be bad and in fact it can be done quite well.
someone mentioned up there that they want bouncing for LN too, but i thought i remembered someone mentioning that they had heard of a single supporters group area if we ever get a stadium. they were gonna throw us all together. if not than i must be crazy hah.
An ideal location for bouncy-type roll away stands would be on the stage end under its roof. Bouncy-bouncy and roof in one spot could be lovely.
Forget Portland. Converting a fieldturf field between sports is relatively easy, except at Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia. DC fans should check with the fans of Rochester Rhinos. They play in a baseball specific stadium (Frontier Field). I have seen it with both temporary sod and dirt on the infield area. Frankly it looks rather sucky. Definitely plays differently. Also, baseball fields usually keep the lawns higher than a first class soccer field, so you can expect a slower field next season where the grass is. You can always play at Giants Stadium.
I don't think you're crazy (I think I heard that too), but I think they are if they do this. As an "on the fence" quiet sider, I enjoyed when LN split off and took up residence behind the goal. It added another element to the experience. I also think LN has helped spread the enthusiasm from the Barra and SEs all the way around that end of the field. If you let fan groups "spring up" any where, I think it helps bring the whole stadium into the games. If they try to restrict fans groups to specific areas (no matter how visible), I think it would take away from the experience. -dave
I've been to Rochester twice to see a game, and the field presentation is not good with half the field being dirt. As bad as the infield was, what was worse was the pitcher's mound. Literally up to a couple minutes before game time the grounds crew was on the field trying to flatten out the sod that was on the mound area. Early in the game the ball took a bizarre hop there, and then the remainder of the game the players avoiding that area like the plague. Maybe its just that the grounds crew sucks at Frontier Field, but I'm worried that we'll be seeing "bad spots" on the field from the get go.