Plastics and Filaments

Natural vs. Artificial Turf

Natural Grass seems to be the right surface for numerous outdoor sports. Especially in Britain, the birthplace of modern football, a perfectly trimmed lawn is the pride of any gardener and green keeper. Natural grass provides some resilience, reduced friction and specific ball rebound and rolling characteristics, compared to early alternatives like sand or ash pitches.

But natural grass has some limitations that are revealed especially in professional sports. It severely depends on climatic influences, like incidence of sufficient sunlight, the right magnitude of precipitation or adequate irrigation, etc. Furthermore natural grass deteriorates very fast. Independent studies have shown, that a natural pitch can be played on only about 150 hours/year.

Weather independence

Artificial turf is always playable independent of temperature, sunlight, rain or even snowfall. No more mud in the heavily uses areas of the pitch. No costly irrigation, lawn mowing and turf trimming are required. The only maintenance to be done from time to time is to re-level the granulate infill  – like sand tennis courts. Even in wintertime, the surface is playable after snow plowing.

Artificial turf is ideal for any region where the climate inhibits a good natural grass, whether it is in hot and dry climate or in cold and rainy areas. Even heavily used stadium pitches can provide a constant high quality surface throughout the whole season.

No extra training pitches

Artificial turf combines the characteristics of natural grass with high durability. There is no need for extra training pitches. Football clubs that have a natural pitch actually need at least two separate training pitches in order to let the main pitch recover for league matches.

Artificial turf saves money

The installation of an artificial turf pitch is a profitable investment for any stadium operator. The replacement of a natural pitch, that is necessary more than once during a season, can cost up to 150,000 Euro. With an artificial pitch you have a one-time investment that guarantees a high quality surface for numerous years. Moreover you save money because no cost intensive maintenance is required.

Natural vs. Artificial - Conclusion