After mounting complaints, MLSE moves to upgrade BMO Field playing surface
TORONTO — Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is moving to improve the much-maligned playing surface at BMO Field.
A new grass surface will be laid next month, with improved lighting and irrigation. And in April, the field will be strengthened by artificial fibres that will hold the surface together, protect the grass and reduce recovery time between events.
SISGrass is a reinforced turf system with 95 per cent natural grass that is already in use at Barcelona, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Glasgow Celtic stadiums or training grounds as well as the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field. Using special machines, the artificial fibres will be stitched in during a FIFA international break.
“It gives the natural grass the ability to wrap its root around a piece of plastic, basically,” Robert Heggie, chief groundskeeper at BMO Field, said in an interview. “And it kind of acts like Rebar for the soil. It gives the plant something artificial to actually anchor itself into.”