For beleaguered Roots fans who missed the game-day atmosphere in Oakland, today was a day of hope after a tough month and a half without pro soccer in the Town.
On Thursday rolls of the new turf field arrived at Laney College. The team will be laying out the new field to be inspected by the USL and United States Soccer Federation officials on Friday to confirm it meets league and federation standards.
If everything is approved soccer fans will be back in the stands next Wednesday, August 4 to watch the Roots take on Phoenix Rising in front of a national television audience on ESPN 2.
It’s been a difficult month for the Roots since they had to cancel their home opener on June 19 minutes before kick-off because the team’s original portable turf field, used when they were the third-division NISA, was deemed unplayable by league officials. That field is comprised of 2900 rectangular panels of field turf that are laid out and connected together to cover the existing track and football field at Laney Stadium.
According to the Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau, the team’s new turf field was supposed to arrive in March but was delayed by shipping issues related to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. It will take about four hours to install, fourteen hours less than the team’s old modular field.
The portable turf field is necessary to create a soccer field at least 110 yards long by 70 yards wide, the minimum field requirement size for a USL league match, and meet USSF requirements.
Oakland has one more home game they are calling a “field trip” at Las Positas College in Livermore this Saturday, July 31 against Orange County SC before returning to Laney. To welcome back fans the team will have $1 drinks, beers, and hot dogs available for purchase for the Aug. 4 game.
