Red Bull Park is slated to open in April 2008 and it may have an artificial surface after all.

So says Nick Sakiewicz, the former MetroStars president and general manager who is now president of Anschutz Entertainment Group Soccer for New York/New Jersey and president of Red Bull Park LLC.

Speaking prior to the New York Red Bulls' 4-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday, Sakiewicz said the long-awaited soccer-specific stadium is scheduled to completed in two years and that the possibility of an artificial surface is back on the table.

In a BigAppleSoccer.com story on Jan. 10, Sakiewicz said that using grass was all but a done deal and that AEG never seriously considered using turf. But since Red Bull came into the picture, buying the Metros on March 9, the Austrian energy drink producer has changed the equation.

Red Bull will pay half the construction costs of the $90 million stadium in its $100 million deal, which also included purchasing the Metros and acquiring the stadium's naming rights.

The type of field surface will be a joint decision between AEG and Red Bull, Sakiewicz said. Both organizations want to maximize the use of the stadium, which includes non-soccer events without ruining the field.

There are several options: FieldTurf (which is used at Giants Stadium and other sports facilities), another surface that combines natural grass and an artificial surface, traditional artificial turf and grass, Sakiewicz said

At Invesco Field at Mile High, the Denver Broncos and the Colorado Rapids use the artificial material-grass combination. "Denver is one of the best fields in MLS and holds up really well," Sakiewicz said. "Football is a meat grinder."

According to the Invesco Field website: "The playing surface at INVESCO Field at Mile High is a 100 percent natural grass playing field made up of four different Kentucky Bluegrasses. The grass surface is stabilized by a network of polypropylene fibers that were sewn vertically into the sod every three-quarters of an inch. This process took three weeks, with crews working 24 hours a day. This technology was developed by DD GrassMaster out of Holland, and has been used at over 100 stadiums worldwide. "Underneath the sod is a sand-root zone laid above an extensive drainage and soil heating system. After heavy rain, in a matter of minutes, surface water can be drained with a strong suction system called Sub-Air. The field will be heated during the winter months by a network of 21 miles of underground hot water tubing."

The field at The Home Depot Center is grass, whose maintenance can limit the number of events at the stadium. "That's one of the mistakes we made with The Home Depot Center," Sakiewicz said. "Everytime you build one you get smarter."

The HDC in Carson, Calif., home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and C.D. Chivas USA, opened in 2003. Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, home of F.C. Dallas, was completed in August 2005.

As for the start of stadium construction, Sakiewicz said that "by August you'll be seeing progress." That is when the ground-breaking is scheduled.

The opening? "April '08 -- that's the hard date," he said.

But Mother Nature could have the final say on the matter. "Who knows if we have a wickedly snowy winter next year," he said.