That is interesting to hear a positive comparison - do they not have a covered pitch at Southampton at all then? And I thought ours was 2/3rds size rather than full-sized.
There is no synthetic grass in the pitch at the Amex, it is the stuff that the grass roots grows through that is synthetic - this stuff gives the pitch its strength and is the reason why the pitch never cuts up.
You are of course right that the idea is that being able to train on identical...