The NWSL Turf Debate Isn’t Going Away
The Washington Spirit continued their punishing May National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) schedule on Wednesday, this time taking the Chicago Red Stars on at home in a midweek matchup that ended in a 1-1 draw.
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This was the first of two meetings between the teams this week, with their rescheduled match from the beginning of the regular season set for next Wednesday.
While the Spirit didn’t have to travel for the match, the game renewed discussions about Segra Field, the D.C. United-owned facility used by their USL affiliate, Loudoun United.
The Spirit have split games between Audi Field and Segra in a deal with the MLS side since 2019.
The turf at Segra Field is punishing and affects the trajectory of the ball as it moves, dictating tactics.
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The Spirit has said in the past that the surface makes it difficult for them to play their game and adds recovery time after matches. They are 2-4-2 at the venue.
While Washington would likely prefer to move away from Segra as soon as possible, the idea of doing away with turf entirely isn’t so easy league-wide.
The Portland Thorns share a turf field with their Major League Soccer (MLS) counterparts, the Portland Timbers, and have no plans to change the surface at Providence Park, where the conditions aren’t conducive to grass.
OL Reign also plays on American football turf at Luden Field, which they share with both the Seattle Sounders and the Seattle Seahawks.
Meanwhile…
Venue and facilities control is a prominent conversation in all women’s sports leagues, but the specificities of playing surfaces in the U.S. seem to plague women’s soccer most of all.
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The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) will not play on the surface at home after filing a complaint with FIFA over the 2015 World Cup being held exclusively on turf.
The new NWSL CBA has effectively outlawed the reconfigured baseball fields of the past, but there’s no good way to outlaw turf without displacing a number of teams.
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