From field to pitch: The Linc gears up for FIFA Club World Cup with soccer-friendly turf

Everyone s going to have to get used to calling Lincoln Financial Field s playing surface the pitch as new soccer-specific turf has been laid down for this summer s FIFA Club World Cup games The stadium s hybrid turf is switching from its usual natural Bermuda grass mixed with a few artificial grass to a Kentucky bluegrass artificial grass mix The grounds crew at Lincoln Financial Field works to install sod for the FIFA Club World Cup starting on June Kimberly Paynter WHYY Eagles Vice President of Grounds Tony Leonard mentioned the process of switching out the turf doesn t change much but how the grass and ground feels does For soccer it s very fundamental the ball roll and the ball speed as well as footing he disclosed With the NFL we have slightly larger guys so there s more body to it The group started the two-day installation on Monday after the venue completed a run of May concerts that included George Strait Chris Stapleton Limp Bizkit and Metallica We re gonna guess insufficient people were at all of those shows To meet FIFA s stadium requirements seats were also removed to extend the corners of the field pitch Sorry we ve got it down now extending the ground level to the FIFA-required meters by meters from the standard meters by meters This removes a sparse hundred seats from the seating chart but Leonard declared it won t impact the stadium s maximum very much and the fans in those corners will get a much closer view of the action than usual Spectator seats were removed from the corners of Lincoln Financial Field to make sure it could contain a FIFA-regulation soccer field Kimberly Paynter WHYY The turf is a HERO Hybrid Grass composed of natural grass and artificial grass placed in the sod as a carpeted reinforced system It was brought in from Tuckahoe Turf Farms in Hammonton N J where it had been cultivated for the past year The Eagles the farm and FIFA have partnered with the University of Tennessee and Michigan State University to develop top-notch consistent natural grass surfaces for this and next year s tournaments It s vital that we get these pitches playing and looking as identical as we can FIFA s Senior Pitch Management Manager Alan Ferguson mentioned in April at a pitch research field day in Tennessee Whether it s a stadium in Canada in the Midwest U S or down in the mountains of Mexico we want there to be consistency with what a player feels under his foot For us it s all about the consistency of the playability for the competitor The grass was put in two weeks before the tournament begins to give it time to grow knit and settle in The more time that we can give the grass to acclimate the better it will be Leonard noted Tony Leonard VP of Grounds for the Philadelphia Eagles shows how the turf at the Linc for the American football games differs from the grass used for FIFA soccer tournaments played there at a press conference on June Kimberly Paynter WHYY Once the grass has had that chance to settle Leonard announced they will put in the specific mowing patterns paint on the lines and install the goalposts and sideline benches Leonard disclosed the pitch will see its first playing action on June two days before the first contest with a practice match to test out the cameras and on-field system The Linc will host eight of the games in this summer s Club World Cup which features the best club teams in the world The event has grown significantly switching from an annual tournament to one held every four years and from seven teams to The tournament kicks off at Miami s Hard Rock Stadium on June and closes out at East Rutherford N J s Metlife Stadium on July Here is the full schedule at the Linc Group Stage June p m Group D Flamengo Brazil vs Esp rance Sportive de Tunis Tunisia June noon Group G Manchester City England vs Wydad AC Morocco June p m Group D Flamengo Brazil vs Chelsea England June noon Group G Juventus Italy vs Wydad AC June p m Group D Esp rance Sportive de Tunis vs Chelsea June p m Group H Red Bull Salzburg Austria vs Real Madrid Spain Knockout rounds June noon Round-of- match July p m Quarterfinal tournament The HERO Hybrid Kentucky Bluegrass from Tuckahoe Turf Farms in Hammonton N J top installed at Lincoln Financial Field Kimberly Paynter WHYY Sod from Tuckahoe Turf Farms in Hammonton N J ready to be taken into Lincoln Financial Field for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup Kimberly Paynter WHYY Sod from Tuckahoe turf farms in Hammonton N J ready to be taken into Lincoln Financial Field for a soccer tournament on June Kimberly Paynter WHYY The Club World Cup replaces the Confederations Cup as the tuneup competition for the World Cup Next year Philly will have five group stage games of the World Cup on June and and close out with a round-of- match on July coinciding with the nation s semiquincentennial celebrations While bulk soccer fans will be watching the superstars like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbapp grace the Linc s new pitch Leonard and his band will be focused on the ground looking at how the turf holds up over the next month with an eye on this year s tournament as a practice run for next year s big show I think it s going to be overall it s just the quality the footing the playability Leonard revealed when required what factor he s the greater part focused on seeing Hopefully we get specific good feedback which I m sure we will from the players We re excited to hear that Leonard announced that Michigan State and Tennessee will also be providing feedback and statistics to help assess how the turf performs After the Club World Cup Leonard reported the squad will pull out the sod in late July ahead of the Weeknd s two concerts on July and The turf for the NFL season will be placed in early August hopefully for another extended season with the Birds Next year after the football season I m hoping to be playing again in late January and then once we get finished it ll be an easy process to transition back over to soccer for the international World Cup Leonard explained Preparations for the Club World Cup are going on outside of the Linc as well It was informed Tuesday that Chelsea will set up the group s base camp at the Philadelphia Union s training facility in Chester while Flamengo will post up at Stockton University in Galloway N J The Union will also host New Zealand club Auckland FC for a scrimmage on June two days before the Major League Soccer side s friendly against Mexican club Atlas The grounds crew at Lincoln Financial Field works to lay HERO Hybrid Grass ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup in June Kimberly Paynter WHYY The post From field to pitch The Linc gears up for FIFA Club World Cup with soccer-friendly turf appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY