Six of the 12 stadia to host games at next summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia will have a hybrid pitch in place. The advanced reinforced natural turf system, SISGrass, provided by surface specialists SIS Pitches, will be installed at both the Mordovia Arena and Samara Arena later this year, marking the fifth and sixth high-profile stadia in Russia to receive a SISGrass makeover.
SISGrass is an advanced hybrid pitch technology featuring patented fiber injections, which offers increased pitch stability and delivers considerably more playing hours than 100% natural grass surfaces.
Although neither pitch will be laid for a few months, SIS Pitches is managing both projects from concept through to construction, and the company has already finalized designs.
Work to install Mordovia Arena’s hybrid pitch, host of June’s group games, will begin this July and be completed for handover in just four weeks. The stadium will also be the new home of FC Mordovia Saransk of the Russian Premier League, as the club will move from its previous home, Start Stadium.
SIS Pitches will then move to install the hybrid football pitch at the Samara Arena in August, a project that is also projected to take four weeks. The stadium will host the Russian Premier League’s FC Krylia Sovetov Samara – replacing the Metallurg Stadium as the club’s home venue.
Ilyas Kobal, SIS Pitches’ Eastern European managing director, comments, “The quality of SISGrass will ensure that the pitches at Mordovia Arena and Samara Arena are resilient in all conditions, and we’re confident that our pitches will exceed expectations for players, officials and fans alike.
“As we’re seeing both projects through from start to finish, the team has put in a lot of work already. We’re looking forward to seeing that realized and have teams play on the best playing surface in the world.”
June 7, 2017
