Watching these last 2 US matches on Jerry's temporary turf, we have an issue. The pitch was absolutely terrible.

I have watched several games over the years at NRG when they overlay grass. All of them have been terrible pitches.

Lots of games are going to be played on grass that's overlaid on turf. They have to figure out a better solution by the time the WC rolls around.

Pretty sure FIFA stated there will be stricter regulations on how they do the turf. As in the stadiums are going to have to have it laid down well in advance of the World Cup so that it can grow together. None of this lay the turf down 10 days before hand crap.

8 of the 16 host sites have artificial turf that FIFA will require to be covered with grass. 5 of those sites are indoor stadiums which makes it even more difficult. Dallas has the most games with 9.

I saw somewhere that there were plans for these stadiums to lay down grass at the end of the 2025 NFL season, but I don't see these stadium owners doing that and not using their venues for other things for 5 months before the World Cup. Best hope is they put down grass in late April-early May to give it at least 1-1.5 months to grow.

The problem is places like NRG. I'm not sure the roof even works anymore. How do you lay the grass early and get it growing? But even when it did work and they had real grass, it never grew well because the stadium wasn't designed to allow enough sunlight to hit the actual turf.

Is Jerryworld even capable getting enough natural light to keep the turf growing?

I know NRG had a system where they could grow the grass outside and then bring it in for games as one unit. I think a system like that would make the most sense for the world cup.

They might grow grass beginning after NFL season, but the stadium would be used between NFL and world cup, they aren't making enough off the World Cup to justify an empty stadium for 6 months.

I was disappointed how rough the pitch was for these matches. Guess they will get to practice again this summer for the Copa.

Aston94 said:

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I know NRG had a system where they could grow the grass outside and then bring it in for games as one unit. I think a system like that would make the most sense for the world cup.

They might grow grass beginning after NFL season, but the stadium would be used between NFL and world cup, they aren't making enough off the World Cup to justify an empty stadium for 6 months.

I was disappointed how rough the pitch was for these matches. Guess they will get to practice again this summer for the Copa.

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NRG had to bring it inside as patches. Always had seams because of it. Arizona built a genius system where the whole field slides outside on tracks as one piece.

What's sad is I thought the pitch last night is the best its been in years in these CONCACAF tournaments and it still looks like that.

They're definitely going to have to do grow lamps for the indoor fields. It just absolutely needs to be laid down long enough in advance for it to grow together. Its not going to be a cheap endeavour. I know EPL teams do it especially in the winter months for their pitches.

Supposedly, at AT&T, the plan is to not put the grass on the concrete like they did for Nations League. For World Cup, they are essentially going to build essentially a "turf box" on top of the concrete with layers of dirt, gravel, etc to allow the grass to grow proper roots and make it a better quality pitch. This requires AT&T to also sacrifice the at least the first half of the first deck because they need to widen the field to FIFA regulations.

Will it still be yellow in spots? No idea. Hopefully they learned something about the use of the grow lights to improve it next time.

Furlock Bones said:

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Watching these last 2 US matches on Jerry's temporary turf, we have an issue. The pitch was absolutely terrible.

I have watched several games over the years at NRG when they overlay grass. All of them have been terrible pitches.

Lots of games are going to be played on grass that's overlaid on turf. They have to figure out a better solution by the time the WC rolls around.

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There is no issue.
They have a completely different plan in place for the World Cup

But does it compare to this?

MUST SEE: MINDBLOWING FIELD CONDITIONS IN COPA PERU 🤯🌱

Puno, Peru pitch so overgrown that ball literally disappears in the greenery. Real John Deere sponsorship opportunity here. 🚜

File this under “Department of CONCACAF R&D”.

[📹 IG/futbol.argento_] pic.twitter.com/rOwEW2VG4W

— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) April 3, 2024

Simple life

Aston94 said:

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I know NRG had a system where they could grow the grass outside and then bring it in for games as one unit. I think a system like that would make the most sense for the world cup.

They might grow grass beginning after NFL season, but the stadium would be used between NFL and world cup, they aren't making enough off the World Cup to justify an empty stadium for 6 months.

I was disappointed how rough the pitch was for these matches. Guess they will get to practice again this summer for the Copa.

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Plus NRG has the Rodeo in March so they wouldn't be able to start growing grass indoors until late March/early April.