Innovative Turf Care for the 2024 UEFA European Championship at VELTINS-Arena

PRESS RELEASE

As a host venue for the UEFA European Championship 2024, the VELTINS-Arena in Gelsenkirchen faced a unique challenge. Typically, the turf is stored and maintained outside the stadium and only brought in for matches. To ensure the quality of the turf, the arena has relied for years on the fully automated lighting system from RHENAC GreenTec AG, which provides the turf with CLS (Complete Light Spectrum) growth light outside the stadium. However, for the European Championship, the turf needed to remain in the stadium continuously for 20 days – a first for the arena.

To maintain the turf in UEFA-quality during this period, the greenkeeping team, in collaboration with RHENAC’s turf experts, developed an innovative care concept. Four weeks before the championship, the turf was conditioned with LED growth light to enhance its resilience. Just before being brought into the arena, the turf was treated with phytohormones to promote regenerative branching. During the championship, temperature, humidity, and irrigation were meticulously balanced to minimize stress on the turf. Daily intensive measurements of the turf area were conducted as part of digital monitoring to support its care.

To reduce germination rates and prevent turf diseases, the turf was regularly treated with UVC light using RHENAC’s mobile turf disinfection system. “With this combination of good preparation, accompanying digitalization of turf parameters by RHENAC, and preventive UVC turf disinfection, we were able to maintain the turf in an optically and functionally perfect state. The data collected from intensive measurements also provides us with valuable insights for future turf care under such complex conditions,” explains Thorsten Petri, Head of Greenkeeping at Schalke 04. “We are very pleased that we were able to contribute with the dedicated greenkeeping team at the VELTINS-Arena and are also very grateful for the unique opportunity to collect and analyze a lot of data over these four weeks. This gives us insights into turf care under the most challenging conditions and helps us recognize stress developments in sports  turf and their impact on turf quality early on, which we can use for modern sports turf care,” summarizes Horst Theisen, CEO of RHENAC GreenTec AG.

About RHENAC GreenTec AG

RHENAC GreenTec AG, based in Hennef, develops and produces innovative LED plant lighting systems with scientific support for a wide range of applications. These range from use in plant research and production, such as biomass production and indoor and urban farming, to lighting systems for sports turf. Services include project consulting and planning, development and manufacturing of lighting systems, and on-site commissioning.

Contact: Dagmar Ziegner
Press Officer
Phone: +49 2244 876 965
Email: d.ziegner@rhenac.de

RHENAC GreenTec AG, Reisertstraße 1-3, 53773 Hennef