Yet the artificial turf hardly will be missed by the soccer players who are trading it for the lush grass field at new Rio Tinto Stadium, after enduring nearly four seasons of enervating hops and runaway passes.

"On the turf, you have no idea where the ball's going to bounce," midfielder Andy Williams said. "So if it's bouncing toward you, you're just hoping you can get it down and under control quickly. Here, you know it's not going to take any tricky bounces or do anything crazy. That's the difference, and just being on grass is sweet."

RSL opens its new $110 million stadium against the New York Red Bulls on national television Thursday night, without concern that it might be losing its greatest advantage - one that has helped it construct a 7-1-5 home record this season, one of the best in Major League Soccer, because opponents are generally not as accustomed to its idiosyncracies.

In fact, players and coaches said playing on grass - as well as a field that will be several yards wider and longer - might give them an even greater advantage by allowing them to more easily play their preferred style, forcing defenses to work harder against them, and avoiding injuries to which they feel more susceptible when playing on turf.

"Our team is more suited to play on grass, just because of the way we like to play," defender Chris Wingert said. "For the most part, we usually outpossess the other team, I think, and a grass field definitely helps with that" by allowing the team to better control its passes.

Conceivably, a larger field also could allow RSL to alter its style, perhaps by playing wider, for example. But coach Jason Kreis doesn't foresee that, noting that RSL has played pretty well on larger grass fields this season - including fighting back for a 3-2 victory at San Jose nearly two weeks ago.

"We haven't always got the results that we've wanted," he said, "but we have played good soccer."

Playing regularly on a new field like the one at Rio Tinto generally requires players with "bigger engines" to cover more ground, Kreis said, such as recently acquired midfielders Will Johnson and Robbie Russell. Defender Nat Borchers said those two, in particular, have helped RSL improve on bigger grass fields this season.

And though nobody foresees a drastic change in style or strategy, general manager Garth Lagerwey said playing on grass could have an effect on the way he builds the team in the future. No longer will he have to make a conscious effort, the way he did this season, to avoid bringing in players much older than 30 for fear of losing them to turf-induced injuries.

Playing on grass, "probably you can afford to take some chances on some older players, because you don't have the risk of the wear and tear," Lagerwey said. "You probably have to get some better athletes, more team speed. Our team is very, very technical. You had to have that to be competitive on the turf.

"Now that we're playing on grass," he added, "you can get away with a couple more athletes, maybe players who aren't quite as technical, just because every ounce of your energy isn't consumed by trying to settle every single ball."

mcl@sltrib.com

RSL's new home

Rio Tinto Stadium opening

Thursday, 8 p.m., ESPN2