ESSMA visited this new Hungarian stadium on its pre-Summit tour on Monday January 20th. The Puskás Arena is to replace the People’s Stadium, which was completely worn-out after 63 years of service. As ambitions for EURO 2020 grew, so did the need for a new stadium. The government decided to invest 470 million euro in a new stadium, which was approved to host 4 matches during the European Championship.
The number of ESSMA Members joining us during our annual ESSMA Summit keeps growing. With around 390 participants from 35 countries this year’s edition has been the highest attend so far. The strong mix of participants proved to be very successful and provided opportunities for stadium experts to share and discuss latest developments and trends in the industry.
ESSMA interviewed Zoltán Laczkó, Head Groundsman at Groupama Arena. Together with his team, he maintains a high-quality pitch all-year round.
Read more on safety measurements at Allianz Stadium, a maximum cap for UEFA Champions and Europa League matches for away fans, 5G at Allianz Arena and more in ESSMA’s weekly industry update.
Dan Sparks - Head Groundsman at Ashton Gate Stadium - focused on the multifunctional use of the Ashton Gate Stadium and the challenges for the grounds team during ESSMA’s Pitch Management Workshop.
St George’s Park was selected as the perfect host for the 2019 ESSMA Pitch Management Workshop because of their excellent reputation in the field of pitch management. As well as their remarkable business plan which sees the amenities being shared between professional sports teams and commercial guests, thereby ensuring year-round use of the facilities. Scott Brooks - Head Groundsman of St George’s Park - explained how they manage to balance the commercial use and use by professional sports teams while guaranteeing a high quality for all pitches on the premises.
This year’s Pitch Management Workshop was organised at St George’s Park, the Football Association's national football centre. Over 25 ESSMA Member from 8 countries learned insights and shared knowledge linked to multifunctionality, pitch maintenance, diseases, renovations and the transition between football and rugby.
ESSMA is pleased to introduce Matrax as a new Corporate Partner. Matrax is a solution-based design, engineering, manufacturing, and distribution company specialising in a high performance pitch preservation event flooring system; the original drivable composite panel coupled with an integrated light duty pedestrian panel option and ADA compliant interlocking ramps.