Unlike football, in which the only reliance upon the turf is for the players’ bodies, in soccer it actually matters how the ball reacts to the turf, and how it slides over & through it.

The new brands of artificial turf (Field Turf and the like) are great for football because they provide a very realistic grass-feel while providing additional cushion that even a natural dirt-and-grass field wouldn’t provide. Soccer balls simply don’t travel on Field Turf they same way they travel on natural grass.

You might say, “tough turkey, just deal with it,” and indeed, some exhibition games between European and Latin American teams have been played in the Georgia Dome recently. At the international soccer level, though, there is just too much at stake and too many suitable alternative venues from which U.S. Soccer can choose.

If Atlanta ever wants to host a U.S. Men’s National Team match, they must have a legitimate outdoor stadium with a natural grass surface. (I suppose an indoor stadium with a natural grass field would be an option, but it would be nigh upon impossible to economically retrofit the Ga. Dome for the retractable roof and/or retractable field that would be required for such an effort. It would certainly be a lot cheaper just to build a new stadium.)