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No pain in the grass: Allianz Stadium turf ready to roll
By Millie Muroi
August 16, 2022 — 11.30am
It’s a journey that began 12 months ago and 60 kilometres away from its final destination.
When the NRLW players from the St George Illawarra and Sydney Roosters play the first competitive match at the new Allianz Stadium on September 2 they will be running on nearly 10,000 square metres of turf prepared to withstand the rigours of elite professional sport.
The new venue will host league, rugby and football matches, as well as music concerts, which presents special challenges for the providers Evergreen Turf.
“Soccer and rugby league are not too severe on the surface,” Evergreen Turf director Graeme Colless said. “Rugby union is the hardest because they wear the bigger studs.”
Thick-cut turf, called Matrix Ready to Play, which has been rolled out in the new stadium, has also been contracted for the Sydney Cricket Ground, Accor Stadium and the Sydney Showground Stadium.
The Matrix turf was used first at the SCG for the 2014 Major League Baseball Opening Series.
At Allianz Stadium, the turf consists of a species of grass called Santa Ana Couch which has been over-sown with ryegrass. Next door, at the SCG, the turf comprises a species called Legend Couch.
Couch grass, which is a warm season species, tends to hold up better against scrums, and ryegrass is a cool season grass with strong tolerance to shade.
While the turf is made for high-demand stadiums and elite field applications, Evergreen has more sitting on the sidelines in case the turf is torn up.
“We’ve got two-and-a-half fields put aside already so that if anything goes wrong, we can replace the field in two nights,” Colless said.
Once installed, elite level play can commence on the turf as early as the next day. But the turf at Allianz Stadium has been growing in since mid-July and had its first ‘haircut’ last week.
Initially grown at the Evergreen Turf Farm in Pitt Town for 12 months, the grass sits on a 50mm sand profile, with roots which grow down and lock into a nylon membrane at the base.
That membrane and sand, along with the drainage system at the new stadium, allows for the rapid removal of rainfall, which the Bureau of Meteorology has indicated is likely to affect NSW in the coming months.
Installation of the turf at Allianz Stadium took two-and-a-half days, but the time between harvesting rolls at Pitt Town and installing them at the stadium was a few hours. Loaded onto trucks, the rolls were then transported to Moore Park.
While Allianz Stadium will host headline sporting events including the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 and rugby league and union games, it will also become the stomping grounds for concert-goers with pop superstar Bruno Mars the first to take the stage in October.
Parts of the turf may need replacing following these concerts, but the grass is intended to be evergreen and handle the crowds.
Nsw govt increases their bid for grand final
so what happened to funding for flood relief lmao
Nsw govt increases their bid for grand final
so what happened to funding for flood relief lmao
In the absence of one, this is where the NRL do a bit of hand-holding to help get it over the line
It’s only really manly and Cronulla
I’d still like a Reno done on ACCOR. Just call it a refurb instead of a knock-down and rebuild but actually do a knock-down and rebuild.
He wasnt responsible for the CofE or stadium funding lol, all committed before Vlandys time as Chair. In fact he hasn't actually delivered anything in regards to stadiums yet.
Given the history of this going back to 2016 the fact Vlandys didnt get the new agreement in writing with a committed date for execution is a total failure of his management.
Chronologically from media reporting:
They will do something to get the union World Cup (roof at least)
