This St. John's soccer pitch is ready for its FIFA seal of approval, city says
New 2025 Canada Games soccer field is all set to become FIFA Quality Pro certified
As St. John's prepares to host the 2025 Canada Games, a new, gleaming soccer field is generating buzz.
The Canada Games legacy facility is set to become a FIFA Quality Pro soccer turf, says Tonya Knopp, manager of facilities engineering with the City of St. John's.
"They do a fairly intensive overview of the pitch," Knopp said. "They'll do a full survey and make sure everything's within allowable tolerance and according with FIFA regulations."
The new space will include modern, FIFA-certified soccer turf, a 400-metre tracking site and an indoor facility, which are set to play a central role in the upcoming 2025 Canada Games events.
Knopp says the facility is progressing faster than expected, ahead of its Sept. 30 deadline.
The soccer field installation process started with spreading large sections of material on the ground with rubber pellets as infill for the artificial turf.
"You roll it out like a carpet," said Knopp.
This field has replaced a parking lot, which previously served as a track and field in 1977, the last time Newfoundland and Labrador hosted the Canada Games.
The lines on the new sports field are a mix of pre-manufactured and on-site elements.
Many of the turf's perimeter lines, like the goal and sidelines, were produced at the plant and shipped ready to install.
The penalty box and corner kick radius circles were stitched by crews on site to ensure alignment and exact specifications.
With the Canada Games less than a year away, Knopp says her team is adding final touches to the turf, making sure it passes certification in the coming weeks.
The field's design is intended to handle different weather scenarios, ensuring it remains functional and safe throughout the games.
The newly renovated training facility construction is also well underway, she says, and is getting its final exterior finishing and staff are getting ready to work on the siding within the next week.
According to the city's website, the soccer turf is set to hold stadium seats for 1,000 spectators. The track and field can hold 500 more.
Knopp, who was also a soccer player herself in high school, says this development feels like a "full-circle moment."
"Just having something of this calibre in this province, particularly being able to achieve the FIFA quality-pro certification," said Knopp, "I think that's a real feather in our cap here."
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