Gerry Dobson-First the turf, now the grass !

[denime]

First the turf, now the grass

A week of solid training ended under a broiling September sun Friday afternoon for Canada ahead of Saturday's World Cup Qualifier against Honduras. Unhappily, it was on a pitch that has suddenly started to cause some concern.

It seems like only yesterday the players were complimenting the surface at Stade Saputo as the best in Canada. It still might be, but there's been an unexpected change. It's apparent that the roots of the grass in this new surface have not had enough time to take hold.....

Read more (http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/blogs/2008/09/05/dobson_canada_qualifier/)

[rocker]

i better not hear any excuses or complaints from guys like Stalteri about this grass...

[Cashcleaner]

Short article, but it speaks volumes with regards to the overall grass vs. turf argument.

[justin]

the grass was installed and used really quickly, so its true that it didn't have enough time to set the roots. grass is still the way to go, but a ripped up grass pitch can end up being brutal with bad bounces and rolls. hopefully its not as bad as it sounds

[rocker]

i thought the grass was planted last fall?

[LucaGol]

i doubt they planted it before the winter...im pretty sure the grass was laid about 2 months ago.

[denime]

Doesn't matter when grass was done,when you someone use a cheap shit grass we all saw last night what was result of cheap,cheap grass.
The thing is if you want to play on grass,do it properly or go with turf.
Red Star Belgrade got new grass 15 days ago,it is German grass installed in 48hrs with heaters under the grass and 30 years warranty.They where told team can play on that grass 2 days after is installed and they played 3 games already in last 2 weeks on that grass.
Red Star payed 1,1 million Euros,yeah 1,1 million,and we where talking on this board that new grass would cost maybe 100 K.
Same grass was used at WC 06 and most of Bundesliga teams have it too:
Stadiums
München, Allianz-Arena
München, Olympiastadion
Kaiserslautern, Fritz-Walter-Stadion
Leverkusen, BayArena Leverkusen
Berlin, Olympiastadion
Nürnberg, Frankenstadion
Stuttgart, Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion
Bielefelder Alm, Arminia Bielefeld
Bremen, Weserstadion
Dortmund, Westfalenstadion
Wolfsburg, VW-Arena
Köln, RheinEnergieStadion

Roll width 220er Jumbo-Roll: 2.20 x 25 m
http://www.schwab-rollrasen.de/english/sportrasen/main.php

http://i36.tinypic.com/2zyeiyw.jpg

I'm scared that if we get grass at BMO it will be worst and cheapest grass they can buy,and that will cause more problems than we have now with plastic turf.

[troy1982]

i doubt they planted it before the winter...im pretty sure the grass was laid about 2 months ago.

The grass was planted last fall.

[LucaGol]

The grass was planted last fall.

They laid it 6 months before the stadium opened....are you sure?

Im not being facetious...I just seem to remember that they laid it a couple weeks before the first game was played there, (which was actually about 4 months ago...not 2 as I previously stated).

[LucaGol]

Doesn't matter when grass was done,when you someone use a cheap shit grass we all saw last night what was result of cheap,cheap grass.
The thing is if you want to play on grass,do it properly or go with turf.
Red Star Belgrade got new grass 15 days ago,it is German grass installed in 48hrs with heaters under the grass and 30 years warranty.They where told team can play on that grass 2 days after is installed and they played 3 games already in last 2 weeks on that grass.
Red Star payed 1,1 million Euros,yeah 1,1 million,and we where talking on this board that new grass would cost maybe 100 K.
Same grass was used at WC 06 and most of Bundesliga teams have it too:
Stadiums
München, Allianz-Arena
München, Olympiastadion
Kaiserslautern, Fritz-Walter-Stadion
Leverkusen, BayArena Leverkusen
Berlin, Olympiastadion
Nürnberg, Frankenstadion
Stuttgart, Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion
Bielefelder Alm, Arminia Bielefeld
Bremen, Weserstadion
Dortmund, Westfalenstadion
Wolfsburg, VW-Arena
Köln, RheinEnergieStadion

Roll width 220er Jumbo-Roll: 2.20 x 25 m
http://www.schwab-rollrasen.de/english/sportrasen/main.php

http://i36.tinypic.com/2zyeiyw.jpg

I'm scared that if we get grass at BMO it will be worst and cheapest grass they can buy,and that will cause more problems than we have now with plastic turf.

This is a really really good point.

The quality of the sod is paramount.

And Im afraid now that you've brought it up, I share your same concerns as well.

[Ron Manager]

The way to go is the stuff Arsenal installed at the Emirates. It is a natural grass turf, with synthetic fibres woven in to provide durability.

Link. (http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=175590)

[rocker]

i doubt they planted it before the winter...im pretty sure the grass was laid about 2 months ago.

no, they put it down last fall when the stadium was still being built.

see article: http://www.broccolini.com/Broccolini_News2_FR.aspx?NewsID=15
The article says it was put down in september or so of last year.

they had to do it before winter hit to get the roots down. guess that didn't work.

here's a pic:

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9016/saputo8jh5.jpg

[LucaGol]

no, they put it down last fall when the stadium was still being built.

see article: http://www.broccolini.com/Broccolini_News2_FR.aspx?NewsID=15
The article says it was put down in september or so of last year.

they had to do it before winter hit to get the roots down. guess that didn't work.




Guess not.

But as denime said, the type and quality of the grass maybe has to be brought into question.

Its not just a matter of slapping down any old sod.

[giambac]

The funny thing is taht all the turf bashers say that our field at bMo is busg league and players hate it.

What do you think the people in Central America were thinking last night watching the game. I'm sure they think our stadium and fields are bush league. It wasa disgrace.

I remember watching a game earlier in the year Vancouver vs LA Galaxy. same thing, the field was a disgrace. I remeber the Steelers Monday night game vs Miamai last year. It looke dlike a pig field.

You just don't get these problems with field turf. At least it's consistent

[rocker]

it was installed by a golf course company I believe. no wonder it looked like a bunch of divots out there.

[Canary Canuck]

it was installed by a golf course company I believe. no wonder it looked like a bunch of divots out there.

Yeah, I remember somebody mentioning that. Joey Saputo had the grass selected by a superintendant of one of the elite private country clubs in Montreal and they selected a grass deemed suitable for climate/conditions etc. Big mistake in my opinion. How about calling the Colorado Rapids groundskeeper since that pitch has been immaculate for every game in the stadium's existence.

[nascarguy]

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9016/saputo8jh5.jpg what a ugly place the only good thing to do is to burn that fucker to the ground

[nascarguy]

I still want grass at bmo field but it better be the good grass not that shit that bmofield was talking about where it is only good for 4 to 5 months

[RPB_RED_NATION_RPB]

what a ugly place the only good thing to do is to burn that fucker to the ground


LOL!

quote of the day!!!:canada:

[rocker]

i was reading the DD Grassmaster site, and Montreal could still install the grassmaster system. It goes in after the grass is put down... they inject synthetic blades every 2 cm squared throughout the whole pitch. The blades only go about 2 cm high, so the regular grass shrouds them. then the real grass roots encircle the fake blades to grow more, and become more stable. i wonder how much that costs.