2022-02-01
Despite being used to the cold in Minnesota, the conditions Wednesday extreme weather They are not normal for people who live in this city, because the temperature will drop much more than normal at this time, which is the hardest of winter.
Even with the intense cold weather, authorities of the Allianz Field and Us Soccer, expect 20,000 people to attend this World Cup qualifying match, taking into account that this city rarely hosts a national team match.
And due to the extreme cold, the local authorities have everything planned to assist fans who arrive at the meeting with some extra items that they will be giving away to combat the low temperatures.
The officials of US Soccer y Allianz Field consulted on how best to accommodate fans in the frigid weather ahead on Wednesday and have therefore decided to provide free hand warmers for the crowd, which is expected to reach capacity level at just under 20,000.
They will also allow fans to bring clothing and blankets for cold weather and battery operated appliances, they will also house medical stations and shelter areas around the stadium, as well as have staff conduct tours of the stadium to check on fans.
In the planning carried out, they report that they will increase the heating in the bathrooms and will provide additional hot food and beverages at the concession stands.
“It all comes down to people: fan safety, staff safety and some of the precautions we had to take from a building standpoint.” said Justin Borrell, general manager of Allianz Field.
“I think our Brew Hall will be a huge hit when it comes to (providing warm areas). It’s just about focusing on people and how the building can better serve people.”
On contingencies, Borrell said: “We have been in constant communication with the people of US Soccer. That’s really the entity he goes back and forth with (FIFA and the match commissioner). It’s been vital to include them in our planning. We haven’t heard that we’ll hit a threshold that might be in conflict with the actual game, but instead we’ll be focusing again on ways we can take care of those people, whether they’re players, fans, staff.”
ON THE FIELD OF PLAY
The United States played Canada on a cold artificial turf in Ontario on Sunday; now Allianz Field will work to have a better playing surface.
the stadium of Minnesota United it has underground heating coils that started thawing the natural grass a few weeks ago. Its purpose is to stimulate plant growth, but it also helped melt about 10 inches of snow from the lawn. However, cold air temperatures forced them to resort to manual snow removal for the last few inches in the middle of the week. pass. They removed everything and were able to cut the grass on Saturday. Subsurface temperatures will be around 40 to 55 degrees.
“It’s not the middle of July; It’s February 2 in Minnesota.” said the assistant gardener Allianz Field, Mitch Ronning.
“Obviously we did our best. We are giving everything we can, but it is snow or cold, as for the gameplay. It’s probably not what you’ll get in the summer because that plant isn’t as active.”
“The inhabitants of Minnesota they are not scared of cold weather and those who want to see the game will come to see it,” Borrell said. “We’re getting great responses on that, including with the temperature and other things that are the forecast.”