The Seattle Sounders apparently will play one more season on the existing FieldTurf at CenturyLink Field.
The only available replacement period — between the Seattle Seahawks’ final home game and the start of the Sounders’ season in March — has arrived, but there are no plans in place for a new surface, sources confirmed.
However, the Sounders are believed to be negotiating a lease extension with First &Goal, the organization that runs the stadium. And that new lease is expected to include language formalizing how often the playing surface will be replaced.
The previous surface was replaced after three Sounders’ seasons. The current one apparently will be kept through a fourth.
Neither the Seahawks nor Sounders are commenting on the issue, each is waiting for a final agreement, which is expected after the Super Bowl.
However, the teams have different turf preferences, with the Major League Soccer team liking fields with new stand-up blades, while the NFL team prefers a broken-in field with tramped down blades.
Zavaleta traded
The Sounders announced Monday that they have traded former first-round draft pick Eriq Zavaleta to Toronto FC for a second-round pick in the 2016 SuperDraft.
Zavaleta, 22, was selected 10th overall in the 2013 draft and made five appearances that season before being loaned to Chivas USA last season. As a professional, he has shifted between forward and central defense.
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