A report going to council on Wednesday recommends the city enter a cost-sharing agreement with the Edmonton Eskimos to replace Commonwealth Stadium's natural grass field with artificial turf before the regular CFL season starts in June.
The benefits of converting the field to artificial turf are numerous, Dave Jamieson, the club's director of communications and marketing, said Tuesday.
Today's artificial turf is nothing like what it was in the past which was little more than indoor-outdoor carpet, Jamieson said.
"It is fair to say, with no disrespect to Mother Nature, that Mother Nature has been equalled if not surpassed. What we have now looks like and plays like grass should," he said.
Commonwealth Stadium is the only one in the CFL with natural grass. While a source of pride with many Eskimos fans, a grass field is not without its share of problems particularly when it comes to inclement weather.
"Anyone who remembers our last game last year which was played in a heavy downpour, or the 2002 Grey Cup, which was played the day after ice fog rolled in and made that surface terrific for hockey, but not for football, will understand that grass ... is unreliable," Jamieson said.
Today's generation of players joining the Edmonton Eskimos are more comfortable on artificial turf because that is the surface they have experienced with other clubs, he said.
The installation of an artificial surface also means the Eskimos can move their practices to the stadium which opens up Clarke Stadium to expanded community use, Jamieson said.
In addition, artificial turf requires no water and no fertilizer use, he said.
(COURTESY EDMONTON JOURNAL)
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