Ça barde à Toronto sur la surface du nouveau stade
Publié : 28 septembre 2006 13:03
Si le SS a une surface gazonée comme prévu, je m'attends à voir plus de matches à Montréal qu'à Toronto pour les qualifs 2008.
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Players still hoping that new stadium's surface will be turfed
PETER MALLETT
Several of Canada's top soccer players hope to persuade the builders of Toronto's new soccer stadium to go on a nature kick.
The Canadian Soccer Association has insisted on an artificial FieldTurf playing surface at the 20,000-seat, $64-million BMO Field, which is nearing completion at Exhibition Place. But several national team players are pleading for a natural grass surface.
"It [FieldTurf] kills the culture of the game," said Julian de Guzman of Toronto, a midfielder with Canada's World Cup team and Spanish First Division club Deportivo La Coruna. "This stadium is supposed to be our new icon for soccer in the country, and the approach seems to be very cheap. It is a step backward in my eyes."
De Guzman's Canadian teammate, Tottenham Hotspur defender Paul Stalteri of Brampton, Ont., also gives the surface bad reviews.
"The best salesman in the world couldn't sell me on it [FieldTurf]," he said. "I hope in my career I never have to play on it."
But the CSA is comfortable with its decision, chief operating officer Kevan Pipe said. "There is absolutely zero chance of natural grass being installed," he said.
Pipe said FieldTurf has met the highest possible standard -- the 2-star certification -- of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. He said the surface will be installed in early November and will be ready for play when the facility opens next May. That's when expansion club Toronto FC will open its first Major League Soccer season.
FieldTurf is a synthetic fibre playing surface with a base of sand and rubber made to simulate natural grass. The Montreal-based company has sold its product to several National Football League and Major League Baseball teams and U.S. colleges. The Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and baseball's Toronto Blue Jays play on FieldTurf.
Peru used the surface for the 2006 under-17 World Cup, and the Union of European Football Associations recently approved use of the surface.
"The 2-star surface debuted for our China exhibition matches in Newfoundland last month, and both the women's national teams of China and Canada loved it and cancelled their training on real grass," Pipe said.
Charmaine Hooper of Ottawa, a veteran of Canada's national team, denied Pipe's claims of support from women players, saying she played on the surface last summer for the W-League's New Jersey Wildcats.
"I absolutely hate it," said Hooper, 38. "These people who are passing or making it okay for us to play on these surfaces, they don't play on the stuff and they don't know. In general, most players don't like it."
Hooper said her feet hurt after only a few days of playing on the surface. She said the surface soaks up heat, and the ball takes strange hops and doesn't run the same way as on real grass.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of Toronto FC, is overseeing construction of the stadium.
Toronto FC head coach Maurice Johnston hopes to recruit some of Canada's top players for his club, and is aware of concerns regarding the playing surface.
"Any player who doesn't want to play on FieldTurf is not someone who we would be interested in having on our team," Johnston said through a team spokesman.
That won't sit well with many of the club's potential signings, including national team and Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto.
"I am definitely 100-per-cent pro grass," De Rosario said. "If they get grass in there instead of an artificial surface, it would be easier to draw better players and teams from Europe to play exhibition games and the fans will respect the team."
In Vancouver, the Whitecaps of the United Soccer Leagues are planning to build their own soccer-specific stadium. Owner Greg Kerfoot has insisted that the playing surface must be grass.
TSN soccer analyst Dick Howard is a member of the FIFA technical committee that originally approved FieldTurf in 2001. He said the committee will be monitoring the situation.
"I think time will tell concerning this issue," Howard said. "The surfaces are getting more sophisticated and we will see it used more and more eventually."
FieldTurf co-founder John Gilman defended his product. He said most of the criticism comes from players who likely have not played on a surface that was properly maintained.
"Having a natural-turf stadium makes the facility unusable and uneconomical," Gilman said. "You have to use the stadium day in and day out for it to be a multiuse facility."
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... herSports/
Players still hoping that new stadium's surface will be turfed
PETER MALLETT
Several of Canada's top soccer players hope to persuade the builders of Toronto's new soccer stadium to go on a nature kick.
The Canadian Soccer Association has insisted on an artificial FieldTurf playing surface at the 20,000-seat, $64-million BMO Field, which is nearing completion at Exhibition Place. But several national team players are pleading for a natural grass surface.
"It [FieldTurf] kills the culture of the game," said Julian de Guzman of Toronto, a midfielder with Canada's World Cup team and Spanish First Division club Deportivo La Coruna. "This stadium is supposed to be our new icon for soccer in the country, and the approach seems to be very cheap. It is a step backward in my eyes."
De Guzman's Canadian teammate, Tottenham Hotspur defender Paul Stalteri of Brampton, Ont., also gives the surface bad reviews.
"The best salesman in the world couldn't sell me on it [FieldTurf]," he said. "I hope in my career I never have to play on it."
But the CSA is comfortable with its decision, chief operating officer Kevan Pipe said. "There is absolutely zero chance of natural grass being installed," he said.
Pipe said FieldTurf has met the highest possible standard -- the 2-star certification -- of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. He said the surface will be installed in early November and will be ready for play when the facility opens next May. That's when expansion club Toronto FC will open its first Major League Soccer season.
FieldTurf is a synthetic fibre playing surface with a base of sand and rubber made to simulate natural grass. The Montreal-based company has sold its product to several National Football League and Major League Baseball teams and U.S. colleges. The Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and baseball's Toronto Blue Jays play on FieldTurf.
Peru used the surface for the 2006 under-17 World Cup, and the Union of European Football Associations recently approved use of the surface.
"The 2-star surface debuted for our China exhibition matches in Newfoundland last month, and both the women's national teams of China and Canada loved it and cancelled their training on real grass," Pipe said.
Charmaine Hooper of Ottawa, a veteran of Canada's national team, denied Pipe's claims of support from women players, saying she played on the surface last summer for the W-League's New Jersey Wildcats.
"I absolutely hate it," said Hooper, 38. "These people who are passing or making it okay for us to play on these surfaces, they don't play on the stuff and they don't know. In general, most players don't like it."
Hooper said her feet hurt after only a few days of playing on the surface. She said the surface soaks up heat, and the ball takes strange hops and doesn't run the same way as on real grass.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of Toronto FC, is overseeing construction of the stadium.
Toronto FC head coach Maurice Johnston hopes to recruit some of Canada's top players for his club, and is aware of concerns regarding the playing surface.
"Any player who doesn't want to play on FieldTurf is not someone who we would be interested in having on our team," Johnston said through a team spokesman.
That won't sit well with many of the club's potential signings, including national team and Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto.
"I am definitely 100-per-cent pro grass," De Rosario said. "If they get grass in there instead of an artificial surface, it would be easier to draw better players and teams from Europe to play exhibition games and the fans will respect the team."
In Vancouver, the Whitecaps of the United Soccer Leagues are planning to build their own soccer-specific stadium. Owner Greg Kerfoot has insisted that the playing surface must be grass.
TSN soccer analyst Dick Howard is a member of the FIFA technical committee that originally approved FieldTurf in 2001. He said the committee will be monitoring the situation.
"I think time will tell concerning this issue," Howard said. "The surfaces are getting more sophisticated and we will see it used more and more eventually."
FieldTurf co-founder John Gilman defended his product. He said most of the criticism comes from players who likely have not played on a surface that was properly maintained.
"Having a natural-turf stadium makes the facility unusable and uneconomical," Gilman said. "You have to use the stadium day in and day out for it to be a multiuse facility."
