PETALING JAYA, Jan 27 — The Shah Alam Stadium seashore paspalum grass has been stripped bare but who will re-lay it or what type of grass will be used is still a mystery.

This is bad news for three teams — Malaysia Cup champions Selangor, Police and AirAsia FC — who call the venue home.

Harimau Malaya will also play their matches there as National Stadium in Bukit Jalil is being renovated.

Selangor will play their first three matches away and have been slotted to open their home campaign on March 1against Sarawak.

But Shah Alam City Council (SACC) agriculture officer Nazrol Fauzi said the stadium will only be reopened in April.

This means Selangor are likely to use Selayang Stadium until they can return “home”.

“The contract for the new pitch is an open tender and we should finalise the company next week,” said Nazrol.

“We have yet to decide but will most probably go with cowgrass as it is the most durable.

“This stadium would be used a lot over the next two years, so we need it to be perfect before we reopen.”

Besides the pitch, Nazrol said the supporters’ toilets would also be upgraded.

“We will also try to upgrade the Internet facilities. We changed the router for the Malaysia Cup final last year and will only give passwords to the press on match days,” he said.

Meanwhile, a groundsman said keeping a bare turf for long was not ideal.

“I hope the authorities will lay the pitch quickly because it could be affected by pesticides if left bare for too long,” said the worker, who didn’t want to be identified.

He said the last returfing was three years ago when Chelsea played the national team.

“Then, we only returfed the middle section after Chelsea had complained about it,” he said.

The staff said cowgrass would be a better choice for the new pitch.

“It is the easiest to maintain. Even when it grows long, only the leaves will stand out. Other types of grass have roots that grow out and can cause injuries to the players.”

The 80,0000 capacity stadium which cost RM460 million was opened in 1994.

Besides 2013, the pitch was re-laid in patches in 2008 and 2011.

The last time it was replaced was 2006.