Artificial pitch in Cardiff

[dullonien]

FUI, the pitch as a whole is brought in on pallets, soil, turf, the lot. The reason for this isn't necessarily to allow it to grow outdoors, but to enable the stadium to be used for other events, such as concerts, and motocross to name two regular events. This itself causes much of the problems with the pitch. The lack of soil depth doesn't allow the grass to grow as it should, and limits root growth which causes it to cut up. The grass is re-laid on a regular basis, multiple times a year.

As you say smartcooky, there is also a lack of light in the stadium which doesn't help matters.

Another interesting fact is that the turf is grown not far from where I currently live in Lincoln. On one of our bike rides last year we passed a number of fields which were amazingly flat and had perfectly cut green grass. We couldn't understand what they were for to begin with, but we had a look online when we got back and found that it was where the Millenium Stadium turf is grown.

 

[Bluemoon]

Bit of late reply to above, but if you look just past the Arms Park you have the bowling green, which is also owned by Cardiff Athletic Club, all of whom are on the board of the athletic club (to my knowledge). That bowling green is used by the athletic club and is another reason why the arms park couldn't move from its current position. Not to mention the amount of money it would cost to flatten the arms park and rebuild it on ground where the ground has now turned to soggy clay.

I don't think the WRU are happy to pay for such a large modification to the arms park as it would need to be pretty much a new stadium. For the extra 4,999 thousand odd seats it would generate, is it really worth the WRUs investment? Also, if they did, I think the Scarlets may be slightly upset? Without a substantial offer, I think its unlikely the CAC board is going to change their mind. Cardiff Blues present or not.

 

[SelimNiai]

Phase one of the Arms Park artificial pitch

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/siW3O13t6uU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[sifplay]

Sorry, but your smart-alec comment about making it "look good on Wikipedia" was an unnecessary add-on that made the whole post look like you were just baiting.

If what you are really asking is "why they would want to put an artificial pitch in Millennium Stadium when they have a roof and under soil heating" then why not just ask that without the added snide remarks? You'll find you will get better responses if you do that.

The reason they want to go artificial is because growing grass inside the stadium is very, very difficult without adequate sunlight and circulating air. Cardiff is at 51½° north latitude, the sun altitude never gets much above 15° in mid winter. Even with the roof open, the pitch area is in constant shadow, and the overall light level is too low. This is results in them having to grow the pitch outside, and install it by placing pallets in position and covering the area with soil before rolling out a new grass cover. This has to be done regularly (every year, or every two years?). Not only is this a huge expenses, it also results the the turf breaking up when it gets a bit ragged as the grass starts to die off.

There are other problems too. Growing the turf in less than ideal conditions makes it vulnerable to diseases and insect infestations. For example, in the past it has been contaminated by a Bibionidae fly (a.k.a. March Fly) infestation, which causes damage to root growth and surface grass coverage, and it has also suffered from Root Knot Nematodes, parasitic condition found in soil which attacks grasses and crops and can develop under certain climatic conditions.

If you look at this Google Earth photo I posted earlier...

....you will see the inside of the stadium is brown (compare that with the Arms Park next door where the turf is green) This is because at the time that photo was taken, there was no turf in the stadium, although it looks like the pallets have been laid and the soil is down. I would guess that photo was taken around June or July or 2009.

My appoligies as it was not intended that.

This reminds me of the Sapporo Dome in Japan. Japan gets so much snow each year when they designed the stadium the sunlight issue was a problem. As I believe the grass roots are not being able to go deep enough. And this is where the Japanese are so good at thinking about the problems before they build it not after it like most of the world. Well their solution was 8,300-ton field that slides in and out of the flying saucer-like stadium, allowing it access to fresh air and sunlight on nice days. This moving field also enables the stadium to switch between baseball and football.

I would give the architechts a kick up the but of their planning. Guess they weren't Japanese.

But for fun sake imagine a rugby game on something like this

And yes its real not a hoax

For Millennium stadium I believe this would be a better solution
http://www.dessosports.com/hybrid-grass

Peter Mokaba Stadium by us is using it

 

[smartcooky]

My appoligies as it was not intended that.

This reminds me of the Sapporo Dome in Japan. Japan gets so much snow each year when they designed the stadium the sunlight issue was a problem. As I believe the grass roots are not being able to go deep enough. And this is where the Japanese are so good at thinking about the problems before they build it not after it like most of the world. Well their solution was 8,300-ton field that slides in and out of the flying saucer-like stadium, allowing it access to fresh air and sunlight on nice days. This moving field also enables the stadium to switch between baseball and football.

Yup. If you look back at my earlier post (#13)

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/...tch-in-Cardiff&p=579983&viewfull=1#post579983

You see a video of the same solution. They roll the playing surface out for maintenance and grass growth, and in for use.

 

[dullonien]

A removable pitch would have been a great solution, but unfortunately not one which was open to them. This wasn't due to a lack of planning by the architects, but simply a lack of space. It's all well and good citing stadiums built elsewhere which have an almost unlimited amount of space to work with, the MS is the complete opposite, built on the tightest of sites possible and no permission to bulldoze the old arms park.

In person you get a real sense for how much of an engineering feat it must have been to even fit a stadium of that size on the site, the towers in the four corners that support the roof are threaded between existing buildings. The tiers inside are supported on a number of huge rams which have to be extended in order to counteract the deflection when the weight of the crowd is added.

Whilst the pitch is an ongoing problem I highly doubt it was the fault of the architect. I'm sure they had numerous experts ensure them that the system developed utilising pallets would be fine. Even now, I'm sure there's a solution to the issues without resorting to a removable pitch, although that would probably be the best solution. Either way, the enclosed nature of the stadium is one of the reasons why it's considered one of the best in the world in terms of atmosphere, and the cramped site also resulted the crowd being much closer to the pitch than in most stadiums.

IMO, there's been a steady improvement to the quality of the pitch over the last few years already. The pitch always looks in good nick, with little sign of dying grass, and it also cuts up a lot less than it used to. It's not perfect and from my limited viewpoint they just need something to help counteract the lack of root growth which causes the structural issues of the turf itself. Adding an artificial blend could be the solution, like the Liberty Stadium uses.

 

[Draggs]

The Liberty uses a Desso Grassmaster surface I believe, always looks pretty nice.

 

[dullonien]

The Liberty uses a Desso Grassmaster surface I believe, always looks pretty nice.

This is why I don't understand Cardiff Blues going for a fully synthetic, which still has some question marks over injuries, when a hybrid option is proven to be an excellent playing surface for rugby. There have been a few comments about a lack of drainage at the Arms Park, but with the river right next door, surely installing a drainage system to flow straight into the Taff wouldn't be too difficult?