How grass experts prepared the pitch for Chelsea vs. Man City amid injury concerns to players

Chelsea and Manchester City will be the next major European sides to test out the condition of pitch evolution in the United States, as the two clubs collide in a preseason friendly as part of the 2024 FC Series.

Pitches in the United States have been a major talking point over the past year or two. As the United States gears up towards hosting the 2026 World Cup, a number of major venues across the country that feature artificial turf fields have to figure out how to be FIFA compliant in the best way possible.

That's been a difficult and bumpy ride, as evident by the criticism many playing surfaces faced at the 2024 Copa America.

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With the two Premier League sides meeting at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, the natural grass surface on top of the turf will be the latest USA-based pitch under the microscope.

The process of laying a grass field on top of a turf surface features two areas of focus. First, the field is grown and cultivated at a sod farm, and then it's transported and installed, usually by a separate company.

The 1.5” thick sod is Bermuda grass, a popular variety in the United States that fares better in warm weather environments, was grown over six months at Carolina Green Corp in North Carolina. It took 31 refrigerated semi-trucks to transport the 558 rolls weighing over a ton across the 16-hour trip to Ohio Stadium.

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"All the sod is grown for immediate play purposes," Chad Price, president and co-founder of Carolina Green Corp, told The Sporting News. "It's thick and has a lot of ballast, and growing it on plastic makes it root-bound like a potted plant. When you pull a plant out of a pot that's been in there for a good while, the roots are all gnarled together and you can't tear it apart very well.

"That coupled with the weight, the ballast, is what makes it work when you're putting it in for an immediate play situation."

Once on-site, it's the job of Bush Sportsturf based in Illinois to install the surface, which includes rolling out the sod to establish the seams and create a firm surface, followed by mowing in the pitch pattern and lining the field for the match.

"These teams expect a lot, and want it to be safe and playable, and also look good," Michael Peters, owner and president of Bush Sportsturf, told The Sporting News." We'll work with the grounds crew of these Premier League teams to address any concerns they have or anything we can do to improve the pitch before matchday."

While seam integrity and pitch bounce were a concern in the Copa America, these companies are actively listening to feedback to improve their surfaces not only for these summer friendlies but also for the 2026 World Cup on the horizon.

"Once the teams show up, we usually hear from some of the coaches and players how they like it or how they're feeling," Price said of their sod product. "Some of that may make the press and it may not, but we always want to know. A lot of times these teams played on a field we did a few days or weeks earlier, how does it compare? We hope they're the same, but we want to know those things to try and figure out ways we can adjust."

The match at Ohio Stadium will be the fourth of the preseason tour for both Chelsea and Manchester City, who have played in other venues such as Yankee Stadium in New York City, Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Levi's Stadium in San Francisco, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.