TCF Bank Stadium may play host to MLS soccer for a season

Donate To GopherHole

Zeppelin Gopher said:
So zero clubs in any of the top 4 European leagues play on an artificial surface. And two clubs in the French league (being generous including Ligue 1 in my top 5) have recently moved to turf. Hardly a major trend.
Click to expand...

There is a trend across the world of using turf rather than grass especially in areas where grass is very expensive to maintain. FIFA is endorsing this and has even done research to approve certain types of turf for use in FIFA competitions. Anyway I was just pointing out that a simple google search before you posted would have prevented you form listing France, since the top league in France has teams playing on turf. Just because turf hasn't broken into the Premier League yet doesn't mean there isn't an upward trend of its use.

Personally, I think soccer should be played on grass. I've played on both crappy cheap turf and very nice turf fields and it does change the game.
 


bottlebass said:
Just because turf hasn't broken into the Premier League yet doesn't mean there isn't an upward trend of its use.
Click to expand...

It also hasn't broken into the English Championship, League One/Two, Bundesliga 1/2, Serie A, or La Liga.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
It also hasn't broken into the English Championship, League One/Two, Bundesliga 1/2, Serie A, or La Liga.
Click to expand...

But it is in the top French league, in the 2nd Italian league, allowed in champion league matches, and in MLS. So is that more or less teams than before? FIFA has even approved certain turfs for their matches...
 


Zeppelin Gopher said:
So zero clubs in any of the top 4 European leagues play on an artificial surface. And two clubs in the French league (being generous including Ligue 1 in my top 5) have recently moved to turf. Hardly a major trend.
Click to expand...

That's fine , but I've seen a bunch of games in all those leagues played on absolutely shiite surfaces this winter. 25 years from now grass surfaces will be in the minority.
 

bottlebass said:
Maybe you should wikipedia Ligue 1, then read the article again, then try again.
Click to expand...

Aaah...Lorient...my bad, I was referring to Ligue 2 Nancy who the article focuses on.

Guess I am not convinced one middling team in the French Ligue 1 is a trend that would lead me to believe “Eventually, all high level sport will be played on artificial turf” as highwayman insists.

Ligue 1 does not even as good as the Championship league in the UK. It is kind of like saying because the Lingerie Football League went with crop tops, soon the NFL will.

COYS!
 

Tlsbhansen said:
Aaah...Lorient...my bad, I was referring to Ligue 2 Nancy who the article focuses on.

Guess I am not convinced one middling team in the French Ligue 1 is a trend that would lead me to believe “Eventually, all high level sport will be played on artificial turf” as highwayman insists.

Ligue 1 does not even as good as the Championship league in the UK. It is kind of like saying because the Lingerie Football League went with crop tops, soon the NFL will.

COYS!
Click to expand...

The trend was the turf is moving into the lower leagues and now into the top leagues. I do agree with you, I don't see it being exclusively used especially in leagues like the Premier League like highway suggests. That doesn't change the fact I was pointing out which is that Zeppelin's statement (" I don't think there is a single European club in ANY of the top leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France) that plays on an artificial surface.") was wrong.
 

bottlebass said:
The trend was the turf is moving into the lower leagues and now into the top leagues. I do agree with you, I don't see it being exclusively used especially in leagues like the Premier League like highway suggests. That doesn't change the fact I was pointing out which is that Zeppelin's statement (" I don't think there is a single European club in ANY of the top leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France) that plays on an artificial surface.") was wrong.
Click to expand...

You are correct, and I agree.
 




I enjoyed this argument simply because we were talking about soccer on Gopherhole. We should do this more often.
 

mnsportsgeek said:
I enjoyed this argument simply because we were talking about soccer on Gopherhole. We should do this more often.
Click to expand...

Agreed! I still think it is a shame that the U of M does not have a men's soccer team even though there are hundreds if not thousands of male high school soccer players in the state. BUT we do have a men's gymnastics team, even though there has not been a boys high school gymnastics team in the state for as long as I can remember!
 

Tlsbhansen said:
Agreed! I still think it is a shame that the U of M does not have a men's soccer team even though there are hundreds if not thousands of male high school soccer players in the state. BUT we do have a men's gymnastics team, even though there has not been a boys high school gymnastics team in the state for as long as I can remember!
Click to expand...

Soccer keeps gaining popularity. With the way our basketball team is doing maybe they will replace them with a soccer team.
 



The Lorax said:
Turf is indeed awful for soccer. Many MLS teams use it though
Click to expand...

I don't recall but it may have been a 30 for 30 that talked about goalies and cancer rates and how they think the black rubber pellets may be the cause


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



In conclusion:

NEW style Turf is not great, but it works.

I'd rather have United at TCF Bank Stadium than ANY other current facility.

Once again, GREAT exposure for U of M and U football.

Soccer is here, and all the whining doesn't prevent the WORLD'S most popular sport from putting Minnesota and the U on the world map.

Haters just hate, and usually don't get it anyway, so f-it.
 

I agree highwayman, I'd like to see a season at TCF. Not sure why people would be against it, its not like stadium is getting used a lot in the summer. I'm sure the businesses would love it and the U could make money some money too.

MLS has some really fantastic stars in it right now and it would be cool to see them play in MN.
 

I wonder what the viability of bringing in real turf (like they did for the City vs. Fiorentina game in 2014) for an entire summer season would be? Soccer in the summer at the Bank will be a blast...as long as they allow tailgating!
 

The tailgating up in Blaine was pretty fun actually. Just sucked trying to get home after the game and drinking for hours. At TCF it will be a nice little bike ride or lightrail ride home, looking forward to that. After all the complaints on the sod they laid down I would think they will just play on the turf.
 

New turf is great for playing soccer -- I like it better than grass, but that's probably because by late summer the grass fields I play on are always in pretty bad shape.
 

Has no one mentioned the fact that the field is too narrow at TCF? It's only 68 yards compared to the 75 yards of most MLS stadiums. That changes the game even more than the turf.
 

AO54 said:
Has no one mentioned the fact that the field is too narrow at TCF? It's only 68 yards compared to the 75 yards of most MLS stadiums. That changes the game even more than the turf.
Click to expand...

If the field was a proposed site for the world cup bid and the olympics bid it should be OK to play MLS on.
 


bottlebass said:
If the field was a proposed site for the world cup bid and the olympics bid it should be OK to play MLS on.
Click to expand...
I believe those bids came before the stadium was complete and they knew how truly narrow the field would be. Looking at some pictures from the man city game, it looks like they could have made the field a bit wider than they did, so maybe it's a non-factor.
 

Tlsbhansen said:
Agreed! I still think it is a shame that the U of M does not have a men's soccer team even though there are hundreds if not thousands of male high school soccer players in the state. BUT we do have a men's gymnastics team, even though there has not been a boys high school gymnastics team in the state for as long as I can remember!
Click to expand...

This is true, if there is a sport that could stand to go away it is Men's gymnastics to be replaced by either Soccer or Men's Lacrosse. Makes more sense to offer those scholarships to local students instead of international or out of state students anyways at least from a tuition and opportunity perspective.
 

I'm not that impressed with the MLS and it's fanbase. I think the Gophers shouldn't allow them to use the stadium. It's a given that the Vikings have a lot of fans, but why allow soccer to steal media attention and a fanbase as long as gopher football struggles.

The MLS fanbase is hipster with their long beards, flannel shirts, goofy sweaters, craft beer, boots, knitting, and foreign automobiles such as Subarus. I really think MLS is a fad and will fade in time.
 

Ralph_Wiggum said:
I'm not that impressed with the MLS and it's fanbase. I think the Gophers shouldn't allow them to use the stadium. It's a given that the Vikings have a lot of fans, but why allow soccer to steal media attention and a fanbase as long as gopher football struggles.

The MLS fanbase is hipster with their long beards, flannel shirts, goofy sweaters, craft beer, boots, knitting, and foreign automobiles such as Subarus. I really think MLS is a fad and will fade in time.
Click to expand...

A 23 year fad? This isn't slamball or the XFL dude.
 

Ralph_Wiggum said:
I'm not that impressed with the MLS and it's fanbase. I think the Gophers shouldn't allow them to use the stadium. It's a given that the Vikings have a lot of fans, but why allow soccer to steal media attention and a fanbase as long as gopher football struggles.

The MLS fanbase is hipster with their long beards, flannel shirts, goofy sweaters, craft beer, boots, knitting, and foreign automobiles such as Subarus. I really think MLS is a fad and will fade in time.
Click to expand...

Actually I'm a bit worried that football is going to be on the downside of participation -- I'm guessing that with all the concussion news that a lot of parents these days are wanting their kids to play soccer versus football.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom