SAN DIEGO — San Diego Wave season finale was supposed to be played at Snapdragon Stadium but was forced to move out of state due to poor field conditions.
The Wave decided on Friday to move the game to the opponent's stadium in Louisville. The team said the field was too unsafe for the players to play on.
"At least we have somewhere to watch it with all of the fans. I was very excited for the end of the season though but oh well," said Nikki Duchane, a fan.
Many San Diego fans went to a watch party in Oceanside since they couldn't see the wave play at Snapdragon.
"We were bummed that it had to be moved but we understand," said Hope Duchane, a fan.
Hope and her daughter, Nikki, have season tickets. Although they're disappointed, they say they're not surprised the game was moved.
"We've been saying for all the past home games that our biggest enemy is the field. We've been complaining about it within ourselves and known the issues," Nikki said.
During a recent Aztecs game, the field was discolored and sand flew up from the players feet.
"Very torn up from the other sports there. I think ruby and San Diego State football. It didn't seem they were repairing it at all. It seemed very dry and didn't seem they were watering it," Hope said.
A representative from the Wave says players evaluated the field and didn't feel comfortable playing on it.
"This is beyond just paint on the field that's aesthetically bad on tv. We're talking about the quality of play. The ball isn't going to roll the way it should. It's not an even field for the players to run on this is just not a safe environment," said Shannon Mac Millan, the chief impact officer of San Diego Wave.
Last week, a representative from FIFA walked the field and deemed it was unplayable for today's match. In a statement, representatives with Snapdragon Stadium say they recognize the field aesthetic doesn't meet desired expectations but had confidence a match could be played here today. They say they're investing resources to improve conditions going forward.