Seattle Sounders: No New CenturyLink Field Turf for 2015 Season
From the sounds of it, it appears that the Seattle Sounders will not be getting new turf at their home stadium CenturyLink Field prior to the start of the 2015 MLS season. I can assure you that there are not a lot of Sounders fans that are happy about the situation, me included.
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The current turf at CenturyLink was installed prior to the 2012 MLS season. The current state of the turf is an embarrassment for the Sounders and MLS in general. Now, as I’m sure you all know, the Sounders are not the primary tenant at the stadium. They share the stadium with the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL. First & Goal Inc., the group that runs CenturyLink Field, is in charge of replacing the turf when it is needed.
As a season ticket holder for the Sounders, I have been saying that the turf needed to be replaced at the end of the 2013 season. It was even more apparent during the August 10th match between the Sounders and Houston Dynamo last season. There was a corporate event held at the stadium by Amazon, and additional pellets were added to try to make it look better. However, it did not work out that way and made it look one hundred times worse. Take a look at the picture below to see just how badly it really looked. The photo actually makes it look much better than it did in person. The photo was posted on Reddit by SounderBruce.
photo courtesy of reddit.com/SounderBruce
Now you may be asking yourself why they won’t replace the turf. It’s very simple to be honest. The Seahawks don’t want new turf. Wait, what? Yup, that’s right. What the Seahawks want, the Seahawks get. The Seahawks prefer turf that is aged because it is harder, faster and more compact. It’s a more ideal situation for the football players.
Is it frustrating? Yes, it is very frustrating as a fan and I can only imagine how frustrating it is for the Sounders. The two sides, the Sounders and Seahawks, need to come to an agreement on how often the field turf will be replaced. They cannot keep letting this situation happen.
For all of you non-Sounders fans, getting a new stadium is not an option at all. First, who is going to pay for it? Secondly, where are you going to put it? There are no feasible locations in the Seattle area where a new stadium could be built. I know Sounder at Heart did a four-part series about potential locations, but let’s get real, it will not happen anytime in the near future.
How upset are you Sounders’ fans about not getting new turf prior to the MLS season?
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