The almost continent-wide football festival envisioned by UEFA would not have been possible without knowledge, expertise and technological know-how. Many Belgian companies were involved in the smooth running of those footballing events, where PitchTecConcept also had an important contribution.
Wembley stadium
PitchTecConcept was involved in the installation of the new hybrid grass at Wembley stadium in London in January 2020. The stadium hosted the semi-finals and final of the Euro 2020 along with 4 other games. This new hybrid grass system allows busy venues to have a multi-use calendar with sports & events programmed next to each other. It keeps the grass durable and resistant enough for heavy sports use and allows event promotors to use the pitch for non-sports events without needing to re-instal the grass afterwards
Ferenc Puskas Arena
Ferenc Puskás Arena being the National stadium of Hungary in Budapest was specifically built to host a series of Euro 2020 games. The stadium’s construction started in 2017 and was finished before the end of 2019 with the help of PitchTecConcept. We consulted the project management team and the pitch constructor (Garden Group Hungary) about the specific technologies needed to match the expectations. Next to the installation of the hybrid grass system, we successfuly integrated our data analytics partner Raw Stadia into the pitch monitoring model. Raw Stadia measures a series of data related to the pitch in order to enable the groundsteam and the performance manager of the team to predict the pitch behavior in specific situations. Amonst other tools a RS weather station was activated to anticipate on weather conditions allowing the groundstaff to take the appropriate action. The pitch was considered as the best in the tournament by UEFA officials.
Tubize
When Roberto Martinez became manager of the Belgian National Footballteam – The Red Devils- in 2016, he immediately asked for a hybrid grass pitch. From his period at Everton FC and Swansea City he acknowledged the importance of a perfectly playable surface for match-days and training sessions. It took the Belgian FA 4 years but finally they could meet the demands of their Technical Manager in the summer of 2021. PitchTecConcept was asked to do an assessment of the 2 newly built training pitches hence to determine what technology could improve the surfaces within a limited budget. Our hybrid grass partners from GrassMax stitched 4 goal areas and a warming up area outside the pitches. The GrassMax technology allows intense training sessions protection the rootzone and guaranteeing a perfectly even surface. Roberto Martinez and his Devils were over the moon with the result as they now could have intense training sessions in critical parts of the pitches without needing to worry anymore about the quality of the surfaces.
“With PitchTecTechnology we bridge the “gap” between club owners, stadium owners, federations, etc. and the pitch technology industry.Our experience and know-how ensure that pitch technology is correctly selected and deployed with a conceptual approach, so that the investments pay off optimally.”
