ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis City SC's home pitch at CITYPARK is getting a facelift as crews were on hand tearing out the sod to replace it this week.
With City SC's next home game at CITYPARK not until May 11 when they host the Chicago Fire, it give the ground crews time to replace the old pitch with a new one.
Josh McPherson, the Director of Stadium Grounds tells KMOX the typical lifespan of these pitches is one to two years.
"We expect a year, two years out of these sod on plastic fields to survive before we start having different issues that arise" said McPherson.
According to McPherson, some of the issues that could arise from poor field conditions include water distribution issues and weak spots that could lead to injuries for players.
What happens to the old pitch? Fans hoping to obtain or purchase a piece of it will be sad to learn it's not for sale. In fact the grass is intellectual property according to McPherson.
"It's a specific genetic brand, Northbridge Bermudagrass that exists to make sure that the brand stays pure genetic and doesn't get turned into some other Bermuda," McPherson said." It's like corn or any other high end crop."
The old sod will be turned into compost. The new sod will be laid down later this week. It comes from the Carolina Green Corp, the same company who grew the first sod. It will once again be custom-grown Northbridge Bermudagrass.
