Goodbye B.C. Place grass, we hardly knew ya (and no, you can't keep any)

Дата публикации: 11-07-2026 16:34:15

As Vancouver says goodbye to the World Cup, B.C. Place says so long to its grass, with a new artificial turf being installed for the Lions and Whitecaps

Основное содержимое страницы с новостью.

From nearly the moment the last fan had exited B.C. Place, the World Cup signage began to come down around the stadium. And on the field, the green gemstone that was the temporary grass pitch for seven unforgettable games, preparation was being made to tear it up.

Article content

Vancouver’s World Cup party, at least most of it, is over. And like the largely unseen legacy it will leave, the grass will disappear without a trace.

Article content

Article content

There won’t be an opportunity for the public to grab a slab of the Kentucky bluegrass and ryegrass sod that was stitched into a plastic mesh base. There will be no auction, no souvenir slices sold, not even for charity.

“We are investing in a sustainable composting and recycling process, allowing 99 per cent of the organic material from the hybrid grass pitch to be returned to B.C. soil,” wrote PavCo, the crown corporation that operates B.C. Place.

“While we explored the possibility of a donation, the transportation requirements and long-term maintenance needs proved too complex and costly for a community organization to take on. This approach ensures the material is reused responsibly and supports a sustainable outcome.”

Scenes from a media tour of B.C. Place as the venue was getting set to host seven 2026 World Cup matches. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /10111814A

In New Jersey, once the final is over at MetLife Stadium, fans in the U.S., Europe and U.K. who have plopped down a cool US$450 ahead of time, will get a chunk of the field encased in an acrylic block.

The company producing the souvenirs has three additional tiers: $900, $1,200 and $3,000, and every level includes an “authenticity film” on USB. The top-tier level, which is the biggest piece of grass, comes with a gold-etched metal finals ticket, replica World Cup ball in a resin cube, and a crystal-cut glass World Cup trophy.

Article content

Article content

The company, KeepStub, could potentially come away with more than $11 million should they sell out.

Hawking an acrylic memento is different than auctioning off a piece of live grass, but the biggest difference between the situations in Vancouver and New Jersey is time. MetLife is home to the NFL’s Giants and Jets, who don’t begin their seasons until September.

The Vancouver Whitecaps and B.C. Lions had both been evicted from B.C. Place for the tournament, and on top of the pressing need to get back on their home field, the artificial turf underneath the World Cup grass is being replaced.

“It does sound like such an easy thing to do — just grab a piece of grass,” said B.C. Place manager Chris May. “The biggest challenge with that is just how it’s built, and then how you kind of guarantee keeping it alive afterwards?

“We were asked by a ton of people whether that would be possible. Trying to find a way, quite frankly, that we didn’t auction off a piece of grass that was taken out of this environment and wasn’t alive a week later (wasn’t possible).

“(We have) 17 days to go from FIFA to the B.C. Lions, including ripping up that grass. They’re literally on the field now, cutting it and starting to pull it up. Underneath all of that is still the old turf that the Whitecaps played on, on April 25. … There just isn’t a time to do everything we would love to do.”

Article content

The new pitch will be replaced on a three-year cycle, instead of the previous five-year duration.

The Lions have played two road games in Saskatchewan and Hamilton, then two “home games” in Kelowna, and are in Edmonton next Friday before returning to the B.C. Place on July 25 to host the Argonauts.

The Whitecaps played five road games after being booted from B.C. Place on April 26, and hosted Wednesday’s Canadian Championship match with Cavalry FC at Swangard Stadium. They play four more away dates before returning home on Aug. 1 against LAFC.

Thomas Müller, Brian White and Rayan Elloumi scored for Vancouver in Wednesday’s Canadian Championship quarterfinal win over the Cavs, giving the defending four-time champions a three-goal aggregate advantage heading into the second leg at ATCO Field on July 13.

Read More

1. 

   World Cup 2026: Lessons Vancouver learned and what comes next

2. 

   World Cup: Mbappé missed his moment for France; so he conjured another

Article content

Схожие новости

#	Наименование новости	Тональность	Информативность	Дата публикации
1	FIFA grass in NFL stadiums reignites debate over pro football's use of artificial turf	0	5	09-07-2026
2	Vancouver turns its Science World museum into a giant 17-story soccer ball for the World Cup	7	6	27-06-2026
3	Soccer is booming, the Whitecaps are back, winning — and still need a new owner	2	6	09-07-2026
4	FIFA selling the field to be used for the World Cup final in $450 pieces	0	5	10-07-2026
5	Why this World Cup could do for Canada what 1994 did for soccer in the U.S.	2	6	19-06-2026
6	Замена верхнего слоя газона на "Газпром Арене" намечена на конец лета или начало осени	0	0	28-01-2020
7	SIMMONS: How Toronto aced the FIFA World Cup assignment	7	7	03-07-2026
8	Stinson: Can FIFA World Cup 2026 be Team Canada's next leap forward in soccer?	3	6	10-06-2026
9	World Cup 2026: Lessons Vancouver learned and what comes next	0	5	10-07-2026
10	Черчесов: сборная России не переживает за состояние газона на стадионе "Фишт"	0	0	13-10-2018

Классификация: Спорт. Схожих патентов: 0. Схожих новостей: 10. Тональность: 0. Информативность: 5. Источник: theprovince.com.