The POWERgrass® hybrid grass system offers the benefits of natural grass and has a significant impact on all six environmental goals, providing a sustainable and resilient field because the hybrid carpet of the system protects the plants from frequent play and thermal stress (caused by hot or cold climates). The POWERgrass® field allows your team to play and train on the same surface for many hours safely and without holes, providing a field that is playable even on synthetic fibers if the natural grass thins out, which allows for drastically reduced maintenance costs and proper scheduling of interventions. The ban on using rubber on synthetic fields in the 27 European Union countries makes the POWERgrass hybrid grass field system the most effective alternative in all aspects.
The benefits of natural grass with synthetic reinforcement
The POWERgrass® hybrid system offers numerous benefits:
1. Predictability of ball bounce, just like a traditional natural grass field.
2. Up to 1200 hours of play, for northern climates and 1400 hours for southern Italy climates per year, sufficient to meet the needs of most Clubs.
3. Slip resistance during player acceleration and deceleration. The anchoring of the natural grass roots to the carpet offers better traction during changes in direction and reduces the risk of falls.
4. Softness in case of a fall: the player will feel like falling on a natural field.
5. Low maintenance costs. The grass recovers quickly after use while the roots penetrate the POWERgrass® carpet minimizing risks of sod tear and hole formation.
6. Durability of over 20 years with careful and dedicated lawn care.
7. Ease of removal and reuse. Removing hybrid sods is simple: using a "sod cutter" machine, the carpet is collected while keeping the natural grass anchored. Subsequently, the sods can be reused for public green areas, parks, or home gardens.
The POWERgrass hybrid grass and green management
POWERgrass® establishes a new meaning of "hybrid grass systems" that differ from the "reinforced natural systems" we have known so far. Hybrid grass systems must provide a surface where natural grass can thrive within the system and withstand at least 20 hours of play per week during the growing season. At the same time, they must provide sufficient fibers protruding on the surface to play even without grass, because in winter the plant leaves can be damaged. This result is possible only with on-site installation, as the natural or reinforced grass sods are simply laid down and cannot be sewn like rolls of hybrid carpet. This type of installation makes a huge difference for the life span of the hybrid grass system and the guarantee itself. Hybrid carpet systems can also be provided in large sods, but we can no longer consider this a "hybrid field" but simply reinforced. For a good understanding, POWERgrass® can deliver a hybrid field when installed directly on-site or a reinforced natural field when the installation takes place in sods that include the hybrid carpet even if it is the same.
Hybrid grass systems are indeed an alternative to synthetic grass because game never stops whether or not there is natural grass. Those who love to play on natural grass and want a performant field that reduces maintenance and overall costs choose the POWERgrass® system and contribute to the dissemination of new ecological methods based on circular economy guidelines.
Nowadays, the most prestigious play fields are made of natural or reinforced natural grass, while those for intensive use are made of synthetic grass.
National Federations and FIFA have established the LND STANDARD (FIFA QUALITY) or LND PROFESSIONAL (FIFA QUALITY PRO) quality criteria for the construction of synthetic fields.
The surface supports the player
According to FIFA standards, all play fields must guarantee:
In recent years, new parameters have been added to estimate the quality of the playing surface:
Although synthetic grass fields undergo few alterations during the season, in natural grass fields these characteristics vary rapidly and require continuous maintenance.
Cleat grip reduces the risk of falls
During a match, the player accelerates, decelerates, and changes direction continuously. Consequently, shoe adhesion to the playing surface is essential for supporting the player and avoiding slips and/or involuntary falls.
Despite synthetic grass fields having made significant quality strides, professional players do not seem convinced as they feel muscle problems more frequently on a synthetic grass field compared to natural grass ones.
The problem of natural fields is even more complex because the field undergoes significant variations based on weather conditions and maintenance quality. On one hand, players complain about the condition of the playing field but, on the other hand, it is objectively difficult to maintain a natural grass field always in top condition.
A glaring example we experienced was at the Trieste stadium during the 2020 U21 European Championship. The Municipality of Trieste has a beautiful stadium and spends an average of 13,500.00 euros per month, in addition to ancillary expenses (VAT, technical expenses, etc.) to maintain efficient grass in 22 matches on natural grass during the championship.
The risk that, during a cold and rainy winter, the natural grass must be completely replaced is high, so reserves of at least 130,000.00 euros must be allocated. In Italy, every year 10-12 stadiums fail to maintain the grass in good playing condition and change the sods especially after a hot summer. It's not by chance that several stadiums are in poor condition due to lack of funds or know-how for green care.
In our work, we are always in contact with managers, former players, who complain about the condition of synthetic fields based on past experiences. When the field is hard, players experience back pain or ligament irritation.
Various studies have revealed that ankle or knee sprains are more frequent on synthetic grass fields compared to natural ones. Researchers have concluded that synthetic grass has an excessive grip on the player's shoe. Natural grass, on the contrary, tends to yield to the player's rotational force allowing a more natural rotation that does not damage or injure the athlete.
On the interaction of player shoes with the sports surface, once again, only synthetic grass is tested. The first test concerns surface slipperiness. An instrument is used that simulates the player's shoe and provides measurements on the risk of slipping. The second test concerns the traction of the field. A round plate with cleats similar to those of a soccer shoe is used. The plate progressively rotates and measures the force needed to achieve a 45° rotation.
The cause of this "greater grip" on synthetic grass fields can be attributed to synthetic fibers that tend to remain "laid down" on the surface after only 2-3 seasons. When synthetic filaments are not upright, friction and rotational resistance increase significantly; this event worsens in a hot climate. Synthetic grass producers claim that this risk can be reduced with refilling to maintain proper filling, continuous brushing, and field cooling.
Further investigations are required for synthetic grass fields with rubber infill as "the elastic rebound acts as a grinder for the player's back".
We at POWERgrass® have reached a different conclusion because nowadays, the biggest problem on synthetic grass is not the excessive "cleat grip" on synthetic fibers because resilient fibers have been developed in recent years. Furthermore, soccer players are not dancers and do not need to make intense rotational actions on the supporting foot.
In our opinion, the biggest problem with synthetic grass fields is the slipperiness of the surface because the cleat does not grip enough on the synthetic surface since the infill consists of loose granules without consistency and when compacted, the cleats do not penetrate the ground sufficiently. Ligaments work harder to compensate for the surface's instability, the player loses grip, therefore speed and traction.
Every player's dream is to play on a lush and homogeneous natural grass field. However, what players often do not consider is the difficulty of maintaining a natural field in excellent condition every day throughout the season.
With intensive use, natural grass fields get easily damaged, in any sport! A soccer player who hits the ball too low or a rugby player making a tackle... Natural grass sods tear easily. After each match, especially if professional, the lifted sods have to be repaired in the most damaged areas and, if the damage is severe, the sod has to be replaced. Besides being a long and costly job, results often are not optimal because the new sods need months to integrate with the rest of the field.
Creating and maintaining an entirely natural grass field is often a challenge in both cold and hot climates. If the temperature is outside the ideal growth range or due to lack of time, sods from nursery-grown grass are transplanted, but it is a costly and cumbersome operation, and it is not easy to ensure everything works perfectly. Lawn diseases during sod transplantation are frequent because the lawn is under severe stress. A sudden thermal stress can cause serious damage.
The POWERgrass® hybrid field is the perfect combination of synthetic and natural. The POWERgrass® hybrid system was specially developed to eliminate traditional synthetic carpet issues while providing the best foundation for growing natural grass. With on-site installation, a uniform surface is formed where one can play immediately or after 4 weeks of seeding on reinforced natural grass. Once the lawn reaches the desired density, the risk of distortions is reduced because natural grass covers 97% of the surface and allows the shoe to rotate with the player. The risks of slipping and falling are reduced because the roots penetrate and anchor to the hybrid support, providing greater traction resistance. The sensation is like playing on a natural field easy to maintain in perfect condition during the competitive season.
Simultaneously, the system has much lower maintenance costs than purely natural fields. The fibers protect the plant crown from trampling, which regenerates quickly while the roots penetrate our carpet making it much harder for the player to tear up natural clods. The presence of hybrid grass fortifies the natural field in all respects. The risk of the player creating a hole is null. If, for any reason, the natural grass hasn't grown yet or has suffered damage, players can still play on the synthetic until the next 3-4 week interval for seeding.
Measures >100 Gm indicate a hard field
In a typical POWERgrass® hybrid field, the absence of holes is evident and is the first saving in the maintenance budget. Softness and traction resistance of the play surface can be measured and maintained uniformly over a long period with extreme ease. Thanks to numerous industry studies, tools have been developed, chief among them the Clegg hammer which allows your groundsman to measure the sports surface's hardness in less than an hour. According to many studies, all technicians agree that the ideal measurable values on the soccer field are in the range between 65 and 85 Gm; values above 85 Gm are acceptable but MUST NOT exceed the value of 100 Gm. To keep the field soft, it is enough to water it before the match and, if that's not enough, aerate the substrate with a puncture machine equipped with fine spikes.
The hybrid field constructed at the Riviera delle Palme stadium in San Benedetto del Tronto provided further proof of our innovation and know-how. The Sambenedettese team played the first game 17 days after seeding, and coach Montero was impressed. Even we were incredulous about the potential of the POWERgrass® system because we conducted in-depth studies that few today are even able to comprehend. Another original experience was replicated in 2021 at the Tony Bezzina stadium of Hibernians in Malta. The natural hybrid field was installed in 4 weeks and after 4 weeks of growth, it was handed over to the team for daily training. In the 2021/2022 season, the Hibernians trained and played on the same field that was used for official matches, even by other Maltese teams, three times a week. Training and playing on the POWERgrass® natural hybrid field contributed to Hibernians winning the Maltese championship for the joy of the entire team.
2025 POWERgrass S.r.l.
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