St George’s Park SIS Grass Hybrid Field Renovation

Hybrid grass renovation at St George’s park

St George’s Park is the English Football Association’s national football centre in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. The £105m facility serves as the training ground for England’s 24 national teams and features 13 outdoor pitches, including a replica of the Wembley surface and a full-size indoor 3G pitch.

The Background

As the official field suppliers for St George’s Park, SIS Pitches installed SIS Grass Hybrid fields in 2015 and 2016. These hybrid grass surfaces are needed to meet the demands of elite-level training for both soccer and rugby teams.

The Brief

The FA required durable, high-performance fields that offered exceptional playability and could endure rigorous use without compromising surface quality. The fields also needed to facilitate efficient renovation and maintenance. With this in mind, hybrid grass fields were the perfect surface solution.

What We Did

SIS Pitches installed SIS Grass hybrid fields at St George’s Park. Key actions included:

Installation of SIS Grass hybrid systems, combining natural grass with stitched synthetic fibres for enhanced durability.
Implementation of the SIS HydroBox pop-up irrigation system to ensure optimal field conditions.
Comprehensive renovation of the first field after a year, which involved
Removing the grass layer with a Koro machine, leaving the SIS Grass fibres intact.
40 tonnes of sand were applied as a top dressing.
Aerate the surface with a Verti-Drain and overseeding to restore the playing surface.

The Outcome

The SIS Grass hybrid fields at St George’s Park have exceeded expectations, demonstrating exceptional durability and maintaining playability after rigorous use. Following the first field’s annual renovation, the SIS Grass hybrid fibers showed no damage or displacement, reflecting the system’s robustness. St George’s Park’s SIS Grass Hybrid field has hosted numerous teams, including England’s national soccer teams, Ireland and Argentina during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and the Australian Rugby League team in 2016.

Alan Ferguson, Head Groundsman at St George’s Park, praised the solution:

“With SIS Grass Hybrid, SIS Pitches has not only matched the competition; I believe they have bettered it. Its excellent playability and SIS Grass Hybrid are a massive step forward, benefiting many clubs and training grounds in the months and years ahead. Add the SIS HydroBox pop-up irrigation system, which we have installed on the fields, and SIS Pitches have created a winning combination.”

Alan Ferguson, Head Groundsman, St George’s Park

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