Shooting stars to play on turf from stadium

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/10/2003 (8300 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG’S future David Beckham and Ronaldo soccer stars will be shooting it out at the Soccer Spectrum this winter on turf that was once treaded by a different kind of football hero.

As the Spectrum begins its 11th season this week, the players will notice some new turf under their feet. The turf was once found in the stomping grounds of Milt Stegall, Khari Jones and the rest of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers football team.

The playing field at the Spectrum was resurfaced in August using the old Astroturf from Canad Inns Stadium, which was replaced earlier this year with a new kind of field turf made out of crushed rubber.

“We still think (the Astroturf) is the best surface for playing indoor soccer,” said Ted Nocita, a partner at the Soccer Spectrum. “It’s fast and people like it.”

“The old, original turf we got from Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and it was already used when we got it. After 10 years of use and wear we needed to replace it,” he said.

That’s welcome news to the almost 2,500 men, women and children who play at the Spectrum every winter.

“The turf was starting to get really old. It’s great they got the new turf and I’m pretty excited to play on it,” said Rob Thompson, who will play this season at the Spectrum with FC Winnipeg.

Nocita said he’d had his eye on the stadium turf for a couple of years, and noted that Astroturf is becoming more difficult to find because outdoor stadiums are finding the new-style field turf easier to maintain outside.

But a new surface isn’t the only new thing at the Spectrum this year.

Norm ‘N Nate’s Southside Bar and Grill opened last week inside the facility, and co-owner Ian Rentz said it will have the atmosphere of a sports bar, while still maintaining the Norm ‘N Nate’s Delicatessen menu.

“It’s basically a classic New York deli. You’ve got your Montreal smoked meat, you’ve got your clubhouse,” said Rentz, who now owns four Norm ‘N Nate’s restaurants along with his partner Michelle Chabot.

Rentz said he’s hoping to attract not just the soccer crowd and the neighbourhood residents, but is also hoping that the many offices and factories in the area will take advantage of the restaurant’s catering, which he said will comprise a large part of its business.

“I just think the location is right for what we do,” he said.

Since the Spectrum opened in 1992, Nocita said he has seen indoor soccer grow in leaps and bounds among young kids, adding that soccer players who only play in the summer now are falling behind.

“I think people have realized they need to keep up with the game in the winter in order to keep up in the summer,” he said.

Nocita’s brother Tony, a former Winnipeg Fury and national team player who is now a coach with the A-League’s Calgary Storm, said he thinks indoor soccer has reached a comfortable participation level in Winnipeg.

“I think it’s levelled out fairly well. It’s reached a bit of a plateau, and you’re going to have marginal growth at this point,” he said.

PHOTO LINDA VERMETTE/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS