FSM


Stadium Development


World Cup Ready


The SISGrass scene is set


Three new football stadiums in Russia – the Samara


Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium and Saransk Stadium – are now ready for their World Cup kick-offs, after the installation of new high-tech hybrid pitches.


Global pitch specialists, SIS Pitches, the company behind six of the 12 World Cup pitches, was commissioned to design, construct and install the new surfaces at the football venues – which are set to host international football teams including England, Portugal and Belgium during this year’s tournament. This year’s international football event


will be the most technologically advanced in history, with SIS Pitches leading the way with the industry’s most advanced playing surfaces. Its sophisticated reinforced natural turf system, SISGrass, combines 95% natural grass with 5% synthetic turf; installed with patented injection technology and laser guidance for accuracy; offering longer playing hours and faster recovery time after each game. SIS Pitches has now formally handed over


the pitches to each stadium’s management team, who will handle their maintenance from now on, following thorough inspections by independent agency the Sports Turf Research Institute. George Mullan, CEO & Founder of SIS


Pitches, said: “Anticipation and excitement for this year’s World Cup is growing as we get ever closer to the start of the tournament. Our team has been working hard over the last few months to ensure the surfaces we have been commissioned to work on are top class, and in the very best condition. “Six of the World Cup stadiums, including


Samara Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium and Saransk Staidum, now feature the most


10 FSM


innovative and advanced sporting turfs in the industry, which will provide strong, durable and well-performing pitches across the whole tournament. It’s over to the stadium teams now to maintain that standard and quality until the final whistle. “As football fans around the world count


down to the start of the tournament, the pitch handovers are another step closer to the action, and we can’t wait for the matches to begin.” The Samara Arena, formally known as


the Cosmos Arena, has a capacity of 44,198 seats and is scheduled to host four first round group matches. This includes one round of 16 matches, and one quarter- final during the World Cup tournament, including Costa Rica v Serbia (Sunday 17 June), Denmark v Australia (Thursday 21 June), Uruguay v Russia (Monday 25 June), and Senegal v Columbia (Thursday 28 June). After the international tournament, it will become the new home ground of club Krylia Sovetov. The Kaliningrad Stadium, also known as the


Arena Baltika, has a capacity of 35,212 and is the new home ground of Russian football club FC Baltika Kaliningrad. During the World Cup, it is scheduled to host four first round group matches: Croatia v Nigeria (Saturday 16 June); Serbia v Switzerland (Friday 22 June); Iran v Portugal (Monday 25 June); and, England v Belgium (Thursday 28 June). Saransk Stadium, also known as the


Mordovia Arena, will host 45,000 football fans for the World Cup and is set to hold tournament ties including: Peru v Denmark (Saturday 16 June); Colombia v Japan (Tuesday


19 June); Iran v Portugal (Monday 25 June); and, Panama v Tunisia (Thursday 28 June). D. Andreevs, director of Kaliningrad


Stadium administration, added: “SIS Pitches carried out the design and construction work of the football pitch at our stadium, and in April this year we successfully hosted our first football match. Before the match, the independent agency STRI conducted testing, which showed the high quality of the pitch. SIS Pitches are a highly qualified team of professionals that provide high quality services.” The Samara Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium


and Saransk Stadium are just three of 12 venues that will host the World Cup. Six of these have commissioned SIS Pitches expertise and feature SISGrass surfaces, including Luzhniki stadium, where the highly- anticipated World Cup Final will be played before a crowd of 80,000 and a worldwide TV audience of one billion. It will be the first time a World Cup Final has ever been played on anything but all-natural grass.


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