It's not easy to turn a cricket ground into a football pitch. But that's exactly what the owner of the world-class DY Patil Stadium had to do in order to make the venue ready for the Indian Super League.
And after five months of toil, all Vijay Patil wants to see is quality football. "A natural turf has their own beauty and charm. Professionals love to play on grass and I have made sure all the modifications are up to international standards," Patil told dna on Thursday. The venue will witness Mumbai City FC take on FC Pune City on Saturday.
The primary challenge Patil and his untiring team faced was to "soften" the cricket pitch, which was in the centre of the ground. "A cricket pitch is hard, so we had to start work in April. The fact that there wasn't any cricket played on it helped us prepare better. Now you won't be able to make out that there was a cricket pitch here," Patil added.
The organisers also roped in Greg Gillin, a pitch expert, to oversee the process. "Minute elements make a big difference. For example, the grass on a football pitch has to be between 20 mm and 30 mm tall. Gillin, who used to be the Group Stadium Director at the English Football Association, was in contact with us. We discussed soil aeration methods. Gillin, who worked at the iconic Wembley Stadium, told us what kind of fertilisers to use," said Patil.
So what prompted Patil to take the plunge into football? "I've always believed that facilities of this nature should cater to multiple sports. When I was studying in Australia, I'd seen many stadiums there being utilised for Australian rules football when cricket wasn't being played. So when the organisers and Mumbai City FC approached me, I readily agreed," said Patil.
One may recall the venue was even open to hosting I-League matches as the Cooperage Stadium in Colaba was being renovated. That, however, did not materialise, with Mumbai FC opting for the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.
Not many know that the DY Patil Stadium could host a handful of FIFA Under-17 World Cup matches in 2017. Though the final list of stadiums has not yet been prepared, many in the football fraternity are confident that the venue will get the nod. "The FIFA expert committee has inspected the ground. They were happy with what they saw. The ISL has put us in a position where we can specifically prepare ourselves for the requirements of hosting a FIFA event.," Patil said.
