Bert Bos grew the grass for games at BC Place
A B.C. farmer will hold onto the fact he, and Canadian agriculture, got to play a role during the World Cup.
“It was quite exciting to be a part of that, to be a part of Canadian history,” Bert Bos, owner of Bos Sod Farms in Abbotsford, told Farms.com.
In February 2025, Bos’s farm received the contract to provide nearly two acres of hybrid turf for the seven games scheduled at BC Place.
This process included meticulous nitrogen testing and FIFA evaluations of metrics like vertical ball rebound and shock absorption.
“Right from the start our goal was to get everything as perfect as it could be,” Bos said. “And the feedback from officials, and field management professionals, and players was really positive.”
Indeed, it was.
After Australia beat Turkey 2-0 in the first match at BC Place on June 14 on Bos’s sod, players from both countries complimented the playing surface.
“The pitch was really great tonight, especially when it was nice and wet. The ball was rolling really well,” Australia’s goalkeeper Patrick Beach told The Canadian Press.
“The quality of the stadium was very nice, the pitch was very good, in the perfect condition,” said Hakan Calhanoglu, Turkey’s captain. “It was very nice to play on.”
Bos and his staff were responsible for the installation of the turf and had to be on call for any necessary repairs.
Other grounds crew members handled the daily maintenance duties.
“That was a little hard for me,” he said. “When you spend almost 11 months looking after the sod, it’s difficult to hand it over to someone else to care for it.”
BC Place hosted its last World Cup game, a 4-3 penalty shootout Switzerland victory over Colombia, on July 7.
Since then, Bos and his staff removed the sod from BC Place.
Then more than 20 trucks delivered the sod back to the farm for recycling.
“We can separate the synthetic material from the sand and organic material,” he said. “We’re going to compost it and let the organics break down, and then it’ll be used to grow our next field.”
Bos also kept some additional pieces aside for further evaluation.
The buzz around Bos’s turf product has generated interest from others wanting to do business with him.
But water restrictions in B.C. are making those decisions difficult.
In Vancouver, for example, residents are under Stage 3 restrictions for outdoor use.
This means tasks like lawn watering, are currently prohibited.
“That’s having an impact on our sales,” Bos said. “We do have some projects we’re working on, and the positive exposure we’ve had will be complementary to our business going forward.”