Artificial is the Way

For the past few decades artificial grass has significantly began to replace natural lawn across the globe in everywhere from Olympic stadiums to professional arenas. GRASSify recently completed a job at The O2 in London for the Star Sixes, the first ever competitive world football tournament for iconic former international players. (Click HERE for photos and to see the GRASSify team in action!)

One of the sports worlds’ biggest supporters of artificial grass is the NFL (National Football League). In February 2017 The Super Bowl (NFL’s annual championship) took place at the NRG Stadium in Houston which uses artificial grass and next year’s event is also set to take place on an artificial grass pitch at The U.S Bank Stadium in Minnesota. This isn’t a surprise as now over half of the NFL stadiums opt for artificial grass rather than natural… so why is this?

365 Days of Play..

Artificial grass is always playable, whatever the weather conditions. In locations that experience heavy rainfall natural grass can be

highly difficult to maintain with the grass becoming waterlogged and out-of-use. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it can also be beneficial in regions where natural grass is prone to burning or struggles to grow due to the lack of rain.

Durability…

With major sporting competitions rough play is the norm and the increased durability of the surface of artificial grass proves to be very advantageous as with a natural grass pitch a period of recovery is required after a game before it can be used again.

Consistency…

The fibres used to create artificial grass are designed to identically replicate each other so no areas are weaker or of a difference texture. This avoids changes in the speed of the ball during play or the ability for players to find footing, offering the groundskeeper or groundsman more control.

Environmentally friendly…

Artificial grass only needs a tiny percentage of the water required than its natural counterpart, which is a strong ecological and financial incentive. In addition as there is no mowing or weed removal required on an artificial pitch pesticides are not needed which eliminates the issues of chemicals leaking into nearby waters.

Whilst in the past playing on an artificial pitch wasn’t always a players first choice with the developments in artificial grass over the past decade it is now considered as good, if not better than real grass… and if its good enough for the NFL!