The Union will face some unusual challenges playing CF Montréal at old Olympic Stadium

Spend enough time in MLS, as Jim Curtin has, and you’ll see just about all there is to see. But a league whose fans love its eccentricities still manages to spin up new ones every once in a while.

One of them can be found in a stadium well-known for being old. The perils of playing outdoors in late winter in Quebec — and the lack of undersoil heating at CF Montréal’s Stade Saputo — means that the team traditionally plays its home opener indoors at Olympic Stadium instead.

Though it helps to get out of the cold, teams that take to the artificial surface under the Big O’s big top can get caught off-guard, especially if they aren’t used to turf. The atmosphere can be unusual, too, since games there draw big crowds but the noise rattles around.

But for the Union, there won’t be any surprises, because they played there last year — and notched a come-from-behind 2-1 win. Sixteen of the 20 players on the visitors’ squad that day are still on the team, another measure of the Union’s ability to keep their roster together this past offseason.

» READ MORE: Union Takeaways: Damion Lowe leads at both ends of the field in the win over Alianza

Even better, a new artificial surface was installed at Olympic Stadium during the winter, as part of $250 million in upgrades. The turf has FIFA’s highest certification for artificial surfaces, though that only matters so much — just about any artificial surface isn’t as good as grass.

A source with knowledge of the matter said it’s the biggest new turf installation in 20 years, since before the Expos left, and better stuff than what was used in the 2015 women’s World Cup.

(Noted Union fan Carli Lloyd might be interested to hear that.)

CF Montréal players have praised the new surface to local media, and Curtin said he’s heard good things about the turf from people he knows on the team.

“Being indoors is always unique. It has a different feel, a different atmosphere from the crowd,” he said. “All the things that go into a home opener, we’ll have to try to navigate … then when things settle down, try to play our way. But certainly a stadium we’re familiar with, we had success in last year, and we had a good comeback win in last year.”

» READ MORE: FIFA goes to college to study how to grow grass indoors for the 2026 men’s World Cup

So for the second year in a row, Mikael Uhre and Julián Carranza might stand on the same spots where Carli Lloyd delivered a goal and an assist against Germany, in one of the great games in women’s soccer history. And Curtin will again walk past where the dugouts stood when Jim Fregosi, Larry Bowa, and other Phillies managers faced the Expos.

Then his team will try to continue what has become another Philly sports tradition. After winning just one of their first eight games in Montreal, the Union have lost only one of their last five games there, and it was in 2019.

It would help keep the streak going if Uhre gets his first goal of the season. He’s gone scoreless in four games so far, and while no one in Chester is worried, it was a point of focus in practice this week. But he played on turf a lot in his native Denmark, and played well in Montreal last year in what was his first game with the Union.

“Just going back to the basics, doing the simple things perfect,” Curtin said. “Everybody knows Mikael is a guy who can get in behind. With the way Montreal plays, they’re very good in possession, and if we can turn them over, maybe get in behind in transition that suits Mikael.”

» READ MORE: Mikael Uhre aims for a 20-goal season in his second year with the Union

Concacaf announced the schedule for the Union’s Champions League quarterfinal series against Mexico’s Atlas on Friday. The series will start at Subaru Park on Tueday, April 4 at 8 p.m., and Atlas will host its game in Guadalajara on Wednesday, April 12 at 10 p.m.