Vancouver to host Olympic qualifiers

[mtlfan]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2011/05/17/sp-soccer-concacaf-womens.html?ref=rss

[Jeremy]

Good that Canada plays in Vancouver once in a while!

[Richard]

All games will be played on the FieldTurf in BC Place.

[Guest piltdownmanWC]

Sorry to bump this old thread, but does anyone know who is actually the local organizing committee? Or at least who to contact about a block of group tickets?

[Joe MacCarthy]

All games will be played on the FieldTurf in BC Place.

Athletes that play in the stadium will be doing so on the most advanced and state of the art playing surface available. The surface will be a permanent one and will be laid in one piece, making it seamless. It is also FIFA approved to host international soccer events. During concerts and trade shows the field will be protected with a custom cover.

[Vic]

Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

On the Seventh Day he created FieldTurf.

FieldTurf is the wunder miracle of the 21st century and if whoever designed Epcot (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) at Disney had their way it would be on every lawn in the world. But it makes for a really ugly version of the game as a fan or player because the ball won't settle, the bounces are too high, it's hard on the body and you never have the beautiful timing and rhythm of the game you get on well-maintained and prepared natural grass.

It sure beats playing on pavement and is great for places like Canada where you have to baby a field to maintain it or Iceland where you can't grow anything but tundra, but calling it a "state of the art playing surface" is an insult to the game. It's a necessary evil. Where people have the climate and money to maintain a beautiful pitch they aren't playing synthetic soccer.

[alberta white]

Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

On the Seventh Day he created FieldTurf.

FieldTurf is the wunder miracle of the 21st century and if whoever designed Epcot (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) at Disney had their way it would be on every lawn in the world. But it makes for a really ugly version of the game as a fan or player because. The ball won't settle, the bounces are too high, it's hard on the body and you never have the beautiful timing and rhythm of the game you get on well-maintained and prepared natural grass.

It sure beats playing on pavement and is great for places like Canada where you have to baby a field to maintain it or Iceland where you can't grow anything but tundra, but calling it a "state of the art playing surface" is an insult to the game. It's a necessary evil. Where people have the climate and money to maintain a beautiful pitch they aren't playing synthetic soccer.

The Wembly, Green bay Packers version, where grass is woven into an artificial geotextile matting to provide durabilityand stability of the natural surface (I think its called the Desso system) could be the way forward. I imagine it is high end/high cost, however.

FIFA may sanction Field Turf, but unless they dictate a team MUST play on the surface. a lot of teams won't bother. I remind you of Edmontons' inability to bring a "NAME" to the city after the grass was removed from Commonwealth.

The year before, Everton and Riverplate played there, the year the turf appeared we got Pompey (no disrespect to Pompey) Man City were in negotiations until they heared about the surface.

[Blue and White Army]

Looking forward to a bouncing Voyageurs' section!

[Vic]

Yes definitely. And if Vancouver wants the 2015 World Cup final, this is a defining moment in their playbook.

[CoachRich]

BC Place (BCP) is under the PavCo organization that manages the convention centers and BCP.

BCP is mandated to be used as a convention center and stadium so it might never have permanent real grass or hybrid grass (Desso Mastergrass) due to how long the roof is closed and the floor is covered. BUT the good news is the new www.terraplas.com turf protection system they just bought for the reno'ed BCP can be used for AT, hybrid grass and real grass. Looks like someone at BCP was thinking ahead for the future :-)

[CoachRich]

Events sched and tickets. Anyone heard anything, anything at all???

[Guest piltdownmanWC]

Nothing yet.

Here is the Schedule from last time: http://www.concacaf.com/staticFiles/30/44/0,,12813~148528,00.pdf

Start's with two round robin groups of three. So it has been expanded by two teams. However that shouldn't mean too many more matches.

My guess this year's format will be:

2 Groups of 4 (6 matches / group = 12 matches)

2 Semi Finals

Third Place Match

Final

So 16 matches total.

Th-Jan 19 - 2 X Group A Matches 1

Fi-Jan 20 - 2 X Group B Matches 1

Sa-Jan 21 - 2 X Group A Matches 2

Su-Jan 22 - 2 X Group B Matches 2

MoJan 23 - 2 X Group A Matches 3

Tu-Jan 24 - 2 X Group B Matches 3

We-Jan 25 - Break

Th-Jan 26 - 2 X Semi Finals*

Fr-Jan 27 - Break

Sa-Jan 28 - 3rd Place

Su-Jan 29 - Final

Only 2 teams get to the Olympics. So if the Final and Third Places Matches are on the same day the Semifinals will likely get two days break before, as those matches are more important than the final. So there would be a break on Thu Jan 26, and the Semis on the Friday.