GreenFields slide max XQ pitches chosen for four clubs in Almelo

The Netherlands, Almelo

GreenFields pitches and a special artificial turf pitch are being laid at four football clubs and a korfball club in Almelo under instruction from the region’s municipal sports trust. The clubs receiving the new pitches are football clubs Oranje Nassau (ON), SV Almelo, AVC Heracles (an amateur club which broke from the professional club in 1974), PH and korfball club, AKC ’55.

All of the pitches have now been installed and are already being enjoyed by the clubs’ players. Mid-week evening training sessions on the new surfaces are in full swing, with league games being played at weekends. Installation of the new pitches was originally scheduled for late August – just in time for the start of the new season(s) – but heavy rainfall in earlier months pushed the work back.

Selected on intensity of use and durability 

The clubs in question were all consulted on the choice of pitch. Nieuwmeier comments: “Representatives from clubs based in the region were involved in the selection process, looking at the different pitch options available. This pitch system came out on top in terms of the intensity of use and durability, in particular. For us, we’re talking around 1,500 hours of use each year. The system will last us twelve years and will retain its properties.”

In the shadows of the new Heracles stadium

Football clubs Oranje Nassau and Almelo are based on a complex which sits in the shadows of the Heracles Almelo stadium. Plans to grant the two amateur clubs a couple of new artificial turf pitches have been in place since the re-development of the first division club’s stadium, one year ago.

Joint approach for greater efficiency

The project was a substantial one, albeit that more and more municipalities are choosing to lay a number of artificial pitches simultaneously with a view to maximising efficiency and saving costs. The various stages of work involved – from digging and laying the underlays to installing the turf – took place sequentially, moving from one sports complex on to the next.