The future site of Allianz Field might currently be mostly mud, dirt and a giant crane, but 928 miles away, in Littleton, Colorado, the seeds of the future pitch are being planted. On Thursday, August 17, the Green Valley Turf Company planted three acres of Kentucky bluegrass that will eventually become the playing surface for MNUFC in the 2019 season.
The company’s process for cultivating this grass is innovative and comparatively rare — James Simonson of Mortenson Construction estimates only five percent of sod farms use it. The growing medium is spread on a plastic sheet, a technique that allows the roots of the grass to grow down before spreading sideways. The result is a field of grass whose roots don’t have to be cut to harvest it. This means little to no shock to the living plant and helps ensure a smooth transition from Colorado to Minnesota when it is moved in the fall of 2018. At that point, it will be 12-month grass with a thickness of approximately three-quarters of an inch. The 12-month age is ideal in terms of getting sod that’s dense but not too thatchy or root bound to grow well in a new location. Below is a photo of comparable grass grown at Green Valley showing the plastic sheet:
Once the grass is moved to Allianz Field, it will be covered and put to sleep for the winter in preparation for the team’s first season in their new stadium beginning in the spring of 2019. That might seem like a long ways away, but rest assured that the pitch on which the Loons will be running, tackling and scoring is in good hands until then: There is a turf consultant specifically keeping watch over the sod. He is literally being paid to watch grass grow.
Minnesota United’s next home match is a tilt with Philadelphia Union on Saturday, September 9 at TCF Bank Stadium. The teams kick off at 7:00 p.m. 41 years of soccer in Minnesota means $41 gets you a deposit on season tickets for 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium — and seating priority for 2019 at Allianz Field. Buy match tickets for this season or make deposits on season tickets for the next at MNUFC.COM or by calling 763.4SOCCER.
