The Field is Gonna Be Crappy Tomorrow

Its always Joe Robbie.

 

I call it Landshark.

 

Just saw a photo and it looked bad. What happened to the turf they used to use? Probably has something to do with soccer.

 

I still call it Joe Robbie too- I was at there for the very first game there as a guest of Mike Robbie (the younger son). We were on the 50 yard line, row one, seats 1, 2, and 3 about 20 feet back from the players. And then they brought in a bunch of high school bands to sit in front of us in temporary stands (apparently for the halftime show)....and we couldn't see anything mid-field during the first quarter.

Long story short, we complained and were told that there was nothing they could do. But then I guess word got to the owner's skybox that his son couldn't see the field from his prime seats and they moved the whole section of stands down towards the end-zone where nobody was blocked. Only, Mike Robbie wasn't with us....he never showed up to the game (my brother knew him somehow and got the invite/tickets for us). I still have that game program and the tickets somewhere- we beat the snot out of the Bears that day in preseason.

Anyway, it made for a really cool memory- it will always be Joe Robbie to me as well. My high school had a booth there so I went to all the early 90's games either with tickets or to work....I still have tons of great memories from that stadium. Remind me to share the story one of these days when my dad and I snuck into Super Bowl XXIII there.

 

yeah, idk what happened with the grass.... last year the field was pretty decent on shared weekends... This year the field can't even handle 1 half of a game. Might need to do what arizona does. Have the field on a slab that moves from outside, full sun/rain during the week, that can be moved inside for games.

 

MarQueis Gray‏Verified account @MarQueisG 53m53 minutes ago
Take my hat off to the grounds crew here at hard rock stadium! Great job of grinding all day/ night so field can be ready to go today!

 

Can't they just put that new age artificial grass?

 

I vote a huge 'no' to artificial turf. But they do need to do something with that grass.

 

I know this year there has been a LOT of rain, but I don't ever really recall the turf being THIS bad in years past. Not saying there hasn't been times it was, I just simply don't recall it.

I'm beginning to wonder if the partial roof has anything to do with it...the turf not getting adequate sunlight, interfering with airflow...I just don't know but if this is how the field is going to be, then it's time to start looking at other options.

Once upon a time, NO ONE wanted to play on astroturf...Brady Bunch backyard fake grass with only a thin layer of padding underneath it. It was a Greek tragedy waiting to happen, but with the advent of the new prescription artificial turf that's being used in so many stadiums, I'm wondering whether or not this is a solution to what's been horrendous field conditions this season, not only for us, but the Miami Hurricanes as well.

 

yeah that old turf was basically on top on concrete. The stuff now is super soft.

 

How about not scheduling College games on the same week as Pro games.

 

as said before, won't go to a 3g/4g surface. Ross wants soccer events. Last year it wasn't bad. So, whatever changed from last year to this year, needs to be un done. Or build a mechanical slab like arizona and leave the grass outside for the week, and bring it inside for saturday/sunday.

 

Im guessing the mechanical slab option isn't possible. It's possible in Arizona because the stadium was built so it had the ability to roll in and out. The structure was built with that in mind, especially the rolling system and opening at the end of the stadium. I'd assume to do that at the Rock isn't going to be possible, or affordable.

Arizona does it because it's too hot, and too dry for grass to actually grow like it needs to. That's not our problem, and I doubt the roof is causing an issue since most of the field still gets sunlight at times, although those area's in shade longer probably do stay more wet/damp than they should especially with the humidity down there, which of course would make it easier to be torn apart.

I think if anything though, it's got to be a drainage or sub-surface issue. Whatever they're layering under that sod likely is holding too much moisture.

Strangely though, the field looked wet (I'm not sure how much rain fell down there Saturday/sunday) but I thought I heard that they replaced the turf last weekend? If they did, it looked awful. Most of it looked dead, not just torn apart, but dead. It could also be possible that there's something in that turf, or soil that's causing issues. Bugs, parasites, fungus can cause big patches of brown/dead grass like that.

Also, if it was indeed just replaced recently, it's likely that the sod hadn't actually rooted itself down yet. Remember, sod is just like a blanket of grass/dirt/roots laid down on top of dirt. So if the roots of the grass haven't actually gotten into the surface they laid the sod on then it's not really "attached" like it should be which would make it pretty loose as well. So if it hasn't rooted itself down, and was saturated with water, you've got a real problem on your hands since the sod is just blades of grass thinly rooted into a thin layer, that hasn't really "attached" to the dirt below. So the grass is easy to rip out of the layer of sod itself, and you also have the problem of it being really easy to rip complete chunks out like we saw yesterday right to the dirt underneath the sod. It sure looked like pieces of that sod were actually coming up at the "seems" where it was laid too.

When we play Oakland on SNF in a few weeks, apparently the Hurricane's are there on the Saturday too. So, they either better get it fixed by then, or hope that it doesn't rain anytime near that weekend. lol

Either that, or rip it out and put in field turf so it's no longer an issue. There's some MLS teams playing on field turf anyways, right? So soccer at the Rock can't be the big issue. Doesn't the New England MLS team play at Foxborough too? Personally, I'd just change it over to the field turf.

 

Bingo, I think. Apparently, the new roof isn't allowing moisture to evaporate. They might have to invest in something to hit the field, or drain the field, during the week leading up to the weekend.

 

Ross wants major soccer events. MLS is not major. No one takes playing soccer on 3g/4g as a serious event. IE: world cup games, big international games. Seattle and ATL are the two teams i can think of that play on it, because they play in NFL stadiums that use it.

 

Got ya. I don't follow soccer, so wasn't quite sure what type of soccer events he's looking for, but that clarification makes sense. Vancouver and Montreal both would play on it too I think, right? If the NE mls team plays at Foxborough, then they're on the artificial stuff too. Not that it matters, I get what you're saying now.

Easy solution. Just eliminate soccer as a sport.

Garfinkle posted some pics today though of the field getting ripped out today.

 

Could consider putting some high powered fans down on field level during the week while the stadium sits empty to blow some air around. That should get some air moving around in there to help get that dense humid air moving, and help dry things out. I assume they're watering it regularly too, so yeah if the canopy is trapping dense, moist air in there it's going to keep things wet and damp, combine that with a rain storm over the weekend and two games, and you've got a mess. Maybe it won't help much though since it's always humid in south florida.

 

Canes game next week is Primetime. That is less than 24 hrs again to prep the field. Will be sloppy again