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Vancouver-RSL match postponed due to field conditions

EmpireField (Getty)

The Vancouver Whitecaps were forced to postpone their MLS match against Real Salt Lake on Saturday because the grass field put in place for Monday's friendly against Manchester City was waterlogged by heavy rain in the Vancouver area.

As a result, the MLS match has to be re-scheduled, and the Real Salt Lake fans who made the trip north to watch their team play were left with no game to watch. The decision was ultimately an MLS decision, made in conjunction with the teams involved.

There is no word on when the match will be replayed, but it could take months to re-schedule given Real Salt Lake's loaded schedule.

What do you think of this development? Think Vancouver or MLS should re-imburse fans who made the trip? Wonder if focusing too much on the Manchester City friendly led to the ignoring of an MLS match?

Share your thoughts below.

 

Comments

  1. On top of that, as most Englishmen will attest, rain here comes in big globby patches. That does more to promote saturation and erosion as the rain falls in larger volumes than the ground is able to drain it away.

    English rain in contrast is finer, a lot more in the line of what Americans would call “showers,” as opposed to “storms.” It’s less “dense,” as it were.

    Remember the remark David Beckham made when he first played in DC, during that massive summer downpour? He made specific mention how he had never played rain that heavy, with drops that big, in any of his time overseas.

    So… yeah.

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  2. Nothing to do with turf vs grass. The field was unsuitable for play because it was grass OVERLAID on turf! It had poor drainage and while it would have been suitable to play on vs RSL, that play would’ve destroyed it for Manchester City.

    The game was postponed not because the field wasn’t suitable for play – but because it wouldn’t be suitable for the next match!

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  3. Actually Husky throwball will only play one game there in 2011, the apple cup. They will play their whole 2012 season at CLink while Husky stadium is rebuilt.

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  4. Seattle’s turf is awful. Here’s hoping they get it replaced this fall after Husky throwball has finished their season.

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  5. I’m not going to look for the data right now, but the PNW does not get overwhelming amounts of rain between March-October. The bigger issue is that Euro leagues don’t share their fields with other sports (unless it’s Wembley, and we’ve seen how that’s turned out)

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  6. Portland (36 inches per year) gets about 50% more rain in a year than London (23 inches per year) according to some quick research.

    So… incorrect.

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  7. Big clubs (ie big money/exposure) will always be the bigger priority. Last night’s Seattle/Colorado game was absurd how often the players (and ref) were losing their footing on terrible grass laid for the ManU game. I just wish these teams could figure out how to have grass permanently on these fields…especially Seattle, their turf looks awful.

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  8. Those fans should be reimbursed by the clubs (including Man City) and the league. I would be very upset if I went to an away game with nothing to watch. Airfare and lodging isn’t cheap.

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  9. Pretty embarrassing for Vancouver that they are unable and MLS that they are unable to play the game because they were unprepared for the conditions AND they are more worried about the friendly with Man City.

    I am not against Mid-Season friendlies at all. Real Madrid played Real Salt Lake at the U of U on a temporary grass pitch. It was a great night for soccer.

    The real problem here is that the game should have been played because VANCOUVER had prepared correctly and sufficiently. It is their fault 100%. They should either have to forfeit or allow the rescheduled game date to be decided by RSL.

    There is no way that they should benefit in the timing of the rescheduled game considering it was their lack of planning that created this mess.

    Also, considering it is Vancouver, how much of the city did they burn down because the game was cancelled?

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  10. Or at the very least, don’t let big clubs dictate the playing surface. Granted the turf in Portland is brand new, Portland was still able to convice Ajax, Club America, West Brom, and Independiente to play on it.

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  11. Presumably just until after the Man City friendly.

    It’s easy to say this now, but it’s too bad they didn’t cover the field at the first sign of rain. Or maybe it wouldn’t have mattered as the field would have turned to sh*t with them playing on it as rain fell.

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