BBVA Compass Stadium grounds crew aiming to fix pitch problems

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An aggressive decision with an eye on the long run is expected to be the move that gets the grass at BBVA Compass Stadium to look good and perform well on a more consistent basis.

Former Astros groundskeeper Dan Bergstrom is in his first full season as the Director of Turf and Grounds for the Dynamo. He already has made a big decision and has begun implementing his plan.

In recent years, the grounds staff has put Perennial Ryegrass over the field in the winter because it performs better in cooler weather. Then, when the weather warms up they covered it with Bermuda grass.

That transition led to poor field conditions and a color that was much closer to brown than green. Last year the whole field had to be torn up and replaced in May.

This year, Bergstrom said he is using Bermuda grass from the start to avoid that ugly transition period.

"While we have had a beautiful field on opening day, we have a field that gets worse heading into May, June and July as that Ryegrass dies out and the Bermuda grass comes on," said Bergstrom, who has worked with high performance athletic fields with the Cleveland Browns, University of Kentucky and University of Nebraska.

Bergstrom, who is on the Board of Directors of the Sports Turf Managers Association, said there is a chance the pitch does not look perfect on Saturday night when the Dynamo open the regular season against Seattle Sounders FC. He does not, however, expect any major problems.

A view of the field from the upper level at the BBVA Compass Stadium in 2012. ( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) A view of the field from the upper level at the BBVA Compass Stadium in 2012. ( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) Photo: James Nielsen Photo: James Nielsen Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close BBVA Compass Stadium grounds crew aiming to fix pitch problems 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The biggest issue, though, is how the pitch will look over an extended period of time. He does not expect any extensive brown coloring or otherwise poor conditions throughout the spring and summer.

"We are taking a long range view on this instead of the quick fix view," Bergstrom said. "The warm winter has helped us, knowing our Bermuda grass prefers warm weather. We're in great shape going into the opener."