Sam Adekugbe

[Kent]

4 hours ago, red card said:

11 venues hosting World Cup 2026 installing grass will further stoke the issue.

Real question. Are those venues installing grass permanently? Or just for the World Cup and then switching back to artificial turf? My assumption/worry is that many of the venues will just be putting sod on top of the artificial turf. I feel like that's what BC Place is going to do, but might be mistaken.

[Joe MacCarthy]

12 minutes ago, Kent said:

Real question. Are those venues installing grass permanently? Or just for the World Cup and then switching back to artificial turf? My assumption/worry is that many of the venues will just be putting sod on top of the artificial turf. I feel like that's what BC Place is going to do, but might be mistaken.

Nope, they have to be bedded in

I do think they will revert back to artificial after a year or two.  To hold big events like Monster Truck and Motocross etc you have to cover the turf, and oft times that can be for a week.  You can't maintain grass that way, it will get very damaged without seeing the sun.

[Joe MacCarthy]

22 minutes ago, Kent said:

I feel like that's what BC Place is going to do, but might be mistaken.

When BC Place might get grass for World Cup and how long it could last

According to FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani, we could see real grass at BC Place as early as 2025.

“It’s not just BC Place, pretty much every stadium we have… even the ones that are grass, there’s going to be a lot of improvements required to get it up to a World Cup level,”  “I’m not an engineer but I believe that process will start late ’25, early ’26. It’s quite a process.”

“Unlike what you see for friendlies, when they just come in with pallets, that’s already dead grass. It only lasts a few days,” Montagliani explained. “We are actually putting natural grass, as if it was originally there from the beginning, because it’s live. It’s live, and you have to put it in months and months before.”

Testing will occur up until a month before the first game, Montagliani said, at which point it’ll be left alone so the pitch can be in pristine condition.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, the grass pitch will be left behind. It’s up to Pavco, the crown corporation that runs BC Place, to decide what to do with it.

When asked by Daily Hive, a Pavco spokesperson said a decision on what to do with the grass pitch after the 2026 tournament has not yet been reached.

“We’re excited about incorporating natural grass into BC Place Vancouver but are still assessing whether it will be retained after the FIFA World Cup 26,” said the Pavco spokesperson.

“With a grass pitch, it would be important for us to ensure it remains in optimal condition, especially during events like concerts, which can require more than a week of production. While natural grass fields can withstand shorter durations under flooring, preserving their integrity for eight days or more poses considerable challenges.”

[Watchmen]

"A decision has not been reached" is code for "we're ripping the grass back out but don't want to say it yet because people will be mad."

[Joe MacCarthy]

24 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

"A decision has not been reached" is code for "we're ripping the grass back out but don't want to say it yet because people will be mad."

I don't think anyone with any knowledge of the subject seriously thinks it would be kept.  As the Jays found out in their research growing grass in an indoor facility ain't easy and would bear considerable expense and that even includes it being a baseball only facility.

Sure everyone would love to keep it but that building is booked 250 times a year, highly unlikely.

[costarg]

1 hour ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Nope, they have to be bedded in

I do think they will revert back to artificial after a year or two.  To hold big events like Monster Truck and Motocross etc you have to cover the turf, and oft times that can be for a week.  You can't maintain grass that way, it will get very damaged without seeing the sun.

I dream of the day our soccer matches are considered the "big events" over monster trucks.  

[RS]

12 minutes ago, costarg said:

I dream of the day our soccer matches are considered the "big events" over monster trucks.  

It's not monster trucks, per se. It's the ability to host a variety of events at the lowest possible cost/effort.

NFL games are the biggest "events" on a normal sports calendar, and even they are played on artificial turf a lot of the time.

[RS]

Regardless, I doubt Adekugbe's current groin injury is turf related. Those happen anywhere.

[red card]

Another article in Sportico's NFL Turf Wars series says tech advancements make grass workable for high usage venues but costs are higher than using turf.

There are 3 major companies who provide turf: Dutch PlayGreen on the grass side, and American Sport Group and French Tarkett Group on the artificial surface side.

Playgreen has 500 stadiums globally and works with 5 NFL teams. Sport Group's AstroTurf is mostly in US college/high school. They also do US Open and running tracks. Tarkett's Fieldturf is in 7 NFL stadiums. Most of the money is made from high schools/colleges by selling turf.

Real Madrid probably has the most expensive field in sports, having spent around US$140 million for Playgreen grass pitches.

The arguments that artificial turf is needed if a stadium wants to do more than host games is outdated. Using a database built over the past 20 years, Playgreen can predict how a field will react to a calendar full of concerts and games, suggesting adjustments to the field maintenance schedule to ensure the grass stays green (same model that GE uses it to predict when locomotives, jet engines and power plant turbines will need maintenance).

So, the real hurdle these days is convincing sport owners. People still make decisions based on a technology expectation from five or 10 years ago. 

The NFL is quite reluctant compared to the Premier League. Adopting Playgreen's technology about 20 years ago is why Premier League grass is more resilient in the six-yard box.

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/football/2024/real-grass-artificial-turf-football-business-nfl-1234795852/

[Joe MacCarthy]

3 hours ago, red card said:

Turf Wars: Real Grass or Artificial Turf Means Big Business Either Way

“Artificial turf is growing significantly,” Ryan Baker, a partner at KPS Capital Partners,  “It really is, in our minds, the innovation leader in a lot of its products, particular green products. It offers 100% carbon-neutral turf, biobased artificial turf—polyethylene made from sugarcane or soybeans. … It's a market leader in its space, and there's a ton of opportunity for commercially to grow it and operationally to improve it.”

The reasons for choosing AstroTurf tend to be lower maintenance costs, nearly continuous field availability, and the argument that artificial turf may be safer for players than a poorly maintained grass field. “An NFL team is going to spend $2 to $3 million a year maintaining a perfect grass field, but most fields aren’t [within] the perfect NFL stadium,” Baker said.

Even then, the executive isn’t necessarily ceding the NFL or college to his grass competitors: AstroTurf doesn’t need water, while a grass field can require thousands of gallons of water a day, he says. Stadiums in water-stressed regions may find the environmentally responsible decision is to use artificial turf.

[BearcatSA]

22 hours ago, red card said:

Real Madrid probably has the most expensive field in sports, having spent around US$140 million for Playgreen grass pitches.

Is this number the cost of installing these pitches?  And how much is the annual cost for maintenance as well as how is it maintained in a fairly enclosed environment?

[king1010]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

Is this number the cost of installing these pitches?  And how much is the annual cost for maintenance as well as how is it maintained in a fairly enclosed environment?

Real Madrids pitch has elevators to store it underground along with underground grow lights. 

[red card]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

Is this number the cost of installing these pitches?  And how much is the annual cost for maintenance as well as how is it maintained in a fairly enclosed environment?

Real Madrid moves grass trays underground equipped with ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, control and irrigation systems. One of the pitches is also artificial turf. Costs are likely more than the US$1m/yr NFL teams incur for maintenance & staffing. Spurs also store a pitch underground but it is only 1 artificial turf field used for NFL games.

 

[BearcatSA]

On 9/6/2024 at 12:02 PM, red card said:

The arguments that artificial turf is needed if a stadium wants to do more than host games is outdated. Using a database built over the past 20 years, Playgreen can predict how a field will react to a calendar full of concerts and games, suggesting adjustments to the field maintenance schedule to ensure the grass stays green (same model that GE uses it to predict when locomotives, jet engines and power plant turbines will need maintenance).

Notably, however, is that indoor/retractable roof stadia, like the new Bernabeu, Glendale AZ or Allegiant in Vegas, as well as the indoor stadium predecessors in Holland, Germany, Japan, and elsewhere, have retractable fields, not exposed to other non-football/rugby/pointy ball events.

So, what would happen with BC Place? 

[narduch]

I'm confused. 

He just subbed on for the Whitecaps 

[BearcatSA]

I thought he was crocked up.  I suspect that Marsch may have done a very undermanned Caps side a "solid" but having Adekugbe stick around.  

Edited September 8 by BearcatSA

[eramosat]

well, that's better news than thinking he was out longer-term.

[dyslexic nam]

7 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I thought he was crocked up.  I suspect that Marsch may have done a very undermanned Caps side a "solid" but having Adekugbe stick around.  

Understandable move by the MLS Osmow’s Oat Milk Canadian Men’s National Team Coach. 

[CanadaFan123]

7 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I thought he was crocked up.  I suspect that Marsch may have done a very undermanned Caps side a "solid" but having Adekugbe stick around.  

Seems that way but question if that’s the right move. He hasn’t been in a squad under Marsch yet and needs to be integrated sooner than later. 

[gator]

Interesting that @spitfire posted that if Sam is fit he figures he starts at LB and Davies moves up to LW! It seems so long ago since we have seen him play significant minutes at LB for Canada, it is certainly nice to have these options when everyone is available!

[Watchmen]

13 hours ago, narduch said:

I'm confused. 

He just subbed on for the Whitecaps 

I think Sam was day to day.  I can understand why he'd be dropped for Canada in that situation but be eligible for the Whitecaps.  He came on as a late sub.  This isn't a case of him starting and going 90 minutes or something.

[shorty]

2 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

I think Sam was day to day.  I can understand why he'd be dropped for Canada in that situation but be eligible for the Whitecaps.  He came on as a late sub.  This isn't a case of him starting and going 90 minutes or something.

Especially in Marsch’s high-octane system. 

[spitfire]

Just been recalled to the camp (on Twitter) to replace AJ…

 

https://x.com/CANMNT_Official/status/1832856526131700094

Edited September 8 by spitfire

[Corazon]

Where is all this money coming in for these player flights? 🤣 

[Kadenge]

14 hours ago, Corazon said:

Where is all this money coming in for these player flights? 🤣 

"my Copa runneth over"