I want to know how soccer pitches look so good.  In the UK Premier
league or in the recent Euro Cup matches in Portugal.  Do they use
sod/turf or do they use seed?
Thank you
roy

Hi zumaroy,

Quite possibly they're using Palmyra's artificial sport turf.


http://www.palmyra-ltd.com/artificial_turf_soccer_installations.htm

The greatest demand for Palmyra's artificial sport turf is for the
increasingly popular sport of soccer (or football as it's more
commonly known in the UK) where the demands made upon traditional
grass can sometimes restrict pitch usage throughout a season. Palmyra
has supplied artificial soccer turf for pitch installations in many
countries around the world - including the UK, Spain, Portugal,
Slovakia, Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and the Republic of
China.

(see photos)

http://www.palmyra-ltd.com/sports.htm

The Palmyco range of sandfilled and non-sandfilled artificial sport
turf is manufactured in our factory in Maryport, Cumbria, UK and
includes artificial turfing products for multi-sport usage such as:

tennis courts, hockey pitches, soccer pitches, five-a-side football,
golf tees, putting greens, driving practice areas, rugby, volleyball
playing surfaces and cricket pitches
 
Many sports installations incorporate our artificial turf. 


Best regards,
tlspiegel

Were the soccer pitches in Portugal using Palyma(?spl) turf?  And does
hat account for the clear different shading across the soccer pitch?

Hi zumaroy,

I really don't know what was used in Portugal - that's why I posted a
comment and not an answer.

Perhaps another researcher will find the answer for you.

Best regards,
tlspiegel

I'm pretty sure that official tournaments have to be played on
grass... groundsmen are pretty damn good these days... (obviously this
still doesn't answer your question)

Football ("soccer", if you must) is almost never played on artificial
turf, and never in major tournaments as far as I'm aware.

I believe the usual practice is to use turf and to change it regularly
when it becomes seriously worn. At the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff,
Wales, for instance, the turf is laid on pallettes, so that the entire
pitch can be removed for rock concerts etc and replaced for football
matches.

There are various other tricks and tips to keep the grass good - hardy
varieties of seed, undersoil heating to prevent the ground freezing in
winter, careful drainage to prevent boggy swamps when it rains, for
instance.

The "clear different shading" that zumaroy refers to is from mowing
the grass, nothing more. It's common to deliberately cut patterns -
sometimes quite intricate - into the grass.

Plastic/artificial turf is not allowed in European and World
tournaments. Very few European teams have plastic anymore. They
experimented in the 80's but in most cases they found the ball bounced
unevenly (?).

re: the good quality pitches. 

1) Ask David Beckham and Rui Costa what they thought of the pitch in
the 1/4 final penalty shoot out in Euro 2004. The whole penalty spot
fell apart as it was a sand based pitch.

2) again look at the Newcastle and Chelsea pitches during January 2004. Nightmare! 

3) Old Trafford is a marshland really and looks good for about three
weeks. The drainage is really poor and the groundsman have to re-turf
mid way through every season.

Basically the pitches look great in the stadium where they can afford
to have new turf laid and pay for a topnotch groundsman to look after
it. However, poor drainage and bad weather can embarrass the best laid
turfs.

As previously stated the comment about cutting of the grass is just an
optical illusion with extensive mowing in some areas and less in
others. A similar effect is used on the hind quarters of show
horses....and rap stars :-)