I mean, it’s not like we’re in the Astroturf days where it was basically thin green carpet over concrete. In the old Georgia Dome, they had really long blades of synthetic grass with tiny ground up rubber pellets in it to simulate dirt. It was supposed to feel and be as safe as real grass.
They’re playing a collision sport, so unless they wanna play on giant fluffy mattresses, there’s always going to be the danger of injury hitting the ground.
Sure, yes, but some of these stadiums are outdoor only, no roof, snowy hellscapes played on over the course of winter. Grass would be best, but its hard to say “no excuses” when we are doing this FIFA thing in the summer
If Soldier Field and Lambeau can be natural grass, there’s no excuse.
I spent most of the past year consulting on one of the FIFA fields for a customer who does professional sport fields (usually has 3 or 4 growing at a time).
Grass is complicated and expensive indoors. It can be done, but it’s not easy. It’s a significant ongoing cost for a stadium. They replace the grass constantly.
The grass seed industry is also full of corruption, lies, and all sorts of backroom deals. Every so often somebody goes to prison for some shenanigans or another.
The politics and corruption involved is really quite insane.
The grass seed industry is also full of corruption, lies, and all sorts of backroom deals. Every so often somebody goes to prison for some shenanigans or another.
Remove grass seed industry and you just described fifa.
Also if it’s that expensive and they’re willing to grow it for only a month long tournament for a sport that’s not even a big deal here, they can do it for the nfl. I don’t doubt that anything you’re saying isn’t true but honestly they seem like minor speed bumps for a corporation like the nfl.
Artificial turf options are much cheaper. The players get hurt more often on it but that’s a price the owners are willing to pay.
