New turf passes SEA Games test

SINGAPORE — The new National Stadium pitch was put through its paces during the 28th SEA Games athletics and football programme in the past week and operators Sports Hub Pte Ltd (SHPL) said there have been no complaints.

Track and field events were conducted from June 9 to 12, followed by two football semi-final matches on Saturday and normal maintenance was carried out throughout.

The National Stadium will again host two football matches today (June 15) – the bronze medal tie between Indonesia and Vietnam at 2pm, followed by the Thailand and Myanmar in the final at 8.30pm.

The arena had a new grass system, called Eclipse Stabilised Turf (EST), completely laid out 37 hours after the June 5 Games opening ceremony and was kept trim by suppliers HG Sports Turf.

Maintenance of the pitch include the use of light rigs and rotary mowers, as well as watering the pitch, said SHPL senior director of corporate communications and stakeholder management Jose Raymond.

“We are working closely with the organisers of the SEA Games and closing ceremony to ensure that the pitch is ready for the football finals and the closing ceremony (tomorrow),” he added.

“As the roof will still remain closed till June 17, only artificial lighting is available till then. Careful maintenance will commence following the SEA Games after an extraordinary period ahead of the Barclays Asia Trophy next month.”

Thailand coach Choketawee Promrut said eight players in his squad, those who had played on the previous Desso GrassMaster surface during last year’s AFF Suzuki Cup group stage matches at the National Stadium, gave this new pitch the thumbs-up.

“They said it’s very good, because during the Suzuki Cup the (previous) field had a lot of sand,” he told TODAY.

The Desso turf came under heavy criticism as the grass had failed to regenerate after major non-sporting events and HG Sports Turf was appointed earlier this year to supply and maintain the proprietary EST for three years.