TFC groundskeeper at BMO Field on the hot seat
With Argos moving in — a tenancy that didn’t go over well with many Toronto FC fans — Robert Heggie’s profile has suddenly sprouted.
Laura Armstrong Staff Reporter thestar.com May 7, 2016

If Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco are the stars on the pitch for Toronto FC, Robert Heggie is the star behind it.

As head groundskeeper for the Reds for the past seven years, Heggie plays an integral, if largely behind-the-scenes, role in the club’s home performances.

But with the Toronto Argonauts moving in to BMO Field for the first time this summer — a tenancy that didn’t go over well with many Toronto FC fans — Heggie’s profile has suddenly sprouted.

He may not be Bradley or Giovinco, but Heggie knows it’ll be his number people are calling if BMO Field’s new tenants muck up the field.

“I’m just a quiet old grass guy that just wants to take care of his plants,” Heggie laughed when asked about all the attention he and his field have garnered as of late.

That being said, the interest in his turf doesn’t surprise Heggie.

When the idea of housing the CFL at the stadium started to get kicked around more than two years ago, he had a feeling the “very passionate” Toronto FC faithful would voice concerns.

It’s a lot of work, maintaining two sports, Heggie admits.

When Heggie spoke to the Star last month, he said his team had been working from midnight to 6 a.m. for the last few weeks, staying out of the way of the construction crews but on top of the grass’s growth.

He’s not overly worried by the challenge of two teams.

“This year there will be growing pains, don’t get me wrong. There always are growing pains with a new project but I don’t see it being a catastrophic disaster by any means.”

Those growing pains could be exacerbated by Toronto FC’s condensed home schedule due to Phase 2 of construction on the stadium.
Next year, Heggie said there will be fewer conversions from soccer to football, with longer periods in between.

Heggie talked to many others in his field, like the groundskeeping teams at FC Dallas — who will share the pitch with Toronto FC on Saturday — and Wembley Stadium in London.

“If someone is already doing something similar to what we’re doing, why reinvent the wheel? Why not just modify it for Toronto?” he said

The pitch at Wembley, Heggie said, sees about 400 hours of use over a season, between soccer, rugby, the odd NFL game and concerts.
BMO Field, he estimated, will only see about 120 to 150 hours a season.

And Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment has spared no expense getting Heggie the tools he needs to make the change from soccer to football, and the more difficult conversion back.

That includes a $1 million artificial heating system to speed up the growing process and Supaturf, an Australian brand of removable paint that will be used to draw on the gridiron.

With the grass for football at least a quarter of an inch taller than for soccer, some of the paint will come off with a good mow.

The rest must be removed; having gridiron lines across the soccer field isn’t acceptable, Heggie said.

“That’s very aesthetic (sic) and it just looks like junk.”

There’s also a backup field purchased and growing in the Hamilton area if necessary.

He’s in constant contact with players and coaches. As a man of many bosses, it’s Heggie’s goal to keep everyone happy.

“We want to have the best pitch in the league. Last year a lot of the players, like Bradley and Giovinco, all told me I have the best pitch in the league. So that’s what we’re going for again.”