The Soccer Pitch
This is Soccer on the Brain newsletter, providing thoughts on the brain to you.
Topics on the Brain:
Grass
Turf
Player Highlight
Quick Soccer news
Insta Clip
Challenge
Grass fields
This week I want to discuss grass vs. artificial turf and which is ideal for athletes but if you have played or ran on both then I think the answer is obvious.
Grass
Cost to build- Grass can range anywhere from $.99-$10.00 per sqft. The wide range depends on the quality you want which includes the draining system, soil etc..
The average field is 115 yd. x 74 yd so that comes out to 76,900 sqft. So it can cost anywhere from $76,000-$760,000 roughly to lay sod.
Cost for equipment to maintain- your looking at anywhere between $40,000-$100,000 again depending on the quality and how well you want to keep the field maintained.
Maintenance cost- Average is $61,000
Lifespan- 20-30 years
The initial cost to put in the field isn’t a massive undertaking for somebody investing in one but to upkeep the field is where you feel the expensive of it.
Players point of view
Now I can’t speak for every athlete out there but from my experience and with whom I have been around there is clear answer in what they prefer to play on and that is GRASS. The body not only recovers better and quicker but the risk for injury is much less playing on real grass. It is much more forgiving when you land on it and is all around softer which in turn is easier on the joints, knees and muscles.
The only objective to this is the quality of the grass. I have seen fields with spotty grass or patches of grass and dirt surroundings. I have seen very thick and tall grass which makes it difficult to move the ball and also it’s heavy on the legs. Also the worst being an uneven surface where it’s very bumpy. These are times where you may look at turf and prefer it because you know how it’s going to play and how the ball will roll. Other than that, grass to me is the bees knees when it comes to pitches.
Artificial Turf
Im not going to lie, when I look at turf it hurts my joints and knees.
“The achiness, taking longer to recover than on natural grass, the tendons and ligaments are, for me at least, I feel more sore after turf. It takes longer to recover from a turf field than natural grass."
Alex Morgan
Turf
Cost to Install- $750,000-$1.3 million
Cost to maintain- Average $14,000
Lifespan- 10 years ( I think it’s way less but that’s what they say)
Turf in my opinion goes bad after 4-5 years where it becomes flat or run down of sorts.
Looking at the expense of putting in turf I can see why an investor would choose it. It looks clean when put down, low maintenance costs and you can host multiple sports on it without worrying about ruining the field.
Allowing multiple sports to play on the field is probably the most appealing thing for investors because they see dollar signs ($$$) to generate more money.
Some cons to turf
If you have ever been on turf in the summer then you know how hot it can be. Turf has small rubber pieces that sit at the bottom of the grass that hold heat very well. It makes it difficult to play on it and most of the time it will be miserable on the feet after 90 minutes of cutting and sprinting.
The athletes are the ones putting their bodies on the line. They sacrifice a lot playing on turf. The investors only think about the money and what’s best for their pockets. If they cared about the athletes you would see more grass fields in good quality. The only thing I can understand are the fields that are in states where it gets cold and stays that way for many months. Then and only then does it make sense from an athletes point of view.
Athlete in Focus
Riqui Puig
A young up and coming star out of Barcelona who recently signed for LA Galaxy
He played in 42 games for Barcelona from 2018-2022 only scoring twice throughout his time there. Although his stats aren’t off the charts by any means, his style of play is. He is amazing player and a joy to watch. He is a very technical player and extremely intelligent when he plays. He’s a joy to watch and I would recommend taking a glance at an LA game to watch his abilities.
Why would he leave barca?
Well he started to lose playing time but the main reason was money.
His salary at Barca was $2.1 Million and his salary at LA is a little over $6 million a year for 3 years. Again the MLS pays absurd money for these players to come over from Europe and South America and this is yet another insane move for them. For a young 23 yr old this is a great move not only is he getting a better salary than he would anywhere else but he is improving the level of the league, which in turn helps his name grow worldwide.
World soccer news
-CBS is extending it’s contract with the Champions League for it’s TV rights for $250 million a year.
-Manchester United look to bolster there squad with the addition of Real Madrid star Casemiro
Challenge
I challenge you guys to go out and do a workout such as run or jumps or anything with some impact involved. I want you to do some on turf and some on grass and see the difference in how your body feels after it. I can promise even a short period of time on each surface and you will be able to tell the difference. Good luck and Thanks for reading!!