Maracana’s new hybrid turf should support 70 games a year: ‘Technology is the best’, says stadium CEO | football

Powered by duo Fla-Flu, the hybrid turf option was made, with 90% natural and 10% synthetic, due to the poor conditions the stadium presented in some of last year’s matches. The technology chosen is one of the best today, according to Maracanã CEO, Severiano Braga, and the expectation is that Support nearly 70 games per season.

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– We saw that we would have to do something tougher, a fiercer intervention. Today, what we have is the best. There are other technologies, said Severiano Braga, but the technology we use here is the best, and it’s among the best.

One difference with the new grass is the fact that it is planted in the Maracana itself. Before that, the grass was planted elsewhere and arrived at the field in rolls. However, a layer of clay had to be added to maintain the shape of a “Swiss roll”, which made it difficult for water and nutrients to reach the root and caused nutritional deficiencies.

– When you plant it (directly on the playground) it is clean, we put sand with the correct grit size, and we plant the grass. So, the grass is better, it is more resistant – he said.

Synthetic fibers are used as reinforcement for cultivated grass. The contracted company carried out the works in places such as Lusail Stadium, which will host the Qatar Cup Final. Maintenance remained the same, but the CEO explained that management got two more machines with different cutters and a brush that begins to “comb” the fibers.

To adopt this practice, there have been consultations in Europe and River Plate, which adopt a type of grass similar to “Bermuda”, used in the Maracana. And the news doesn’t stop there. The stadium encouraged the change of the turf “frame”, which was previously blue, for an artificial turf with a damping system that was already used in the dressing rooms, with a similar surface to the stadium.

In addition, another change came from fan requests. The management decided to return to the Bridal Veil Network due to the comments of netizens on social networking sites.

– While we are doing our work, we have always been posting the progress of our work. And we were looking at the comments. We understood that the nostalgia, that everyone is talking about the maracana, we had to make our contribution. Then we decided to bring a wedding veil. When we posted it on our social media, there was a great acceptance.

The CEO explains the first game in the new turf

Some fans on social media criticized the fact that the stadium hosted Bango x Flamengo for Campionato Carioca instead of Fluminense x Olympia in Libertadores in its first match after renewing the grass. The synthetic fiber stitching was completed on the 1st of March, the time for the grass was 10 to 15 days.

Clubs have already learned that at this time of year you will not be able to use the stadium. Fluminense had to inform CONMEBOL in advance of the venue of the match, this includes Conmebol, CBF, Ferj and the clubs. He can’t just say, “I’m going to play today.”

– When we finished sewing, I spent another five or six days doing the tests, because the company that made the fibers had to ensure that what I bought was delivered. I had to do all the testing to be able to say at the time: Now, yes, I can give the clubs a stadium. So the question is time and all the protocols you have to follow.

Fla and Flu with the same rights in Maracanã

– Flamingo and Fluminense have equal conditions here. The Maracana has her chest. We have our income, and the Flamengo and Fluminense, when they come to play the games here, have to pay to come and play. There is rent, water, run and pay. What the flamingo owes, he pays. What Fluminense owes, he pays, and the case is the same for both. You do not have to owe another. no. I’m even joking: they are meticulously updated with the installments of the brochure. So, everything is fine. There is no difference. Today it is updated with Maracanã.

– 70 is what we have here. In fact, natural grass is 40 groups. We reinforced it with fiber to support 70 games. If you go to Europe, and find some stadiums, they will have 22 or 25 matches. Here we have 70 people from both clubs, and they are always in great shape. Last year, some clubs did not get past the Copa del Rey, nor did the Libertadores, so they played 30 matches on the field during the year. If you compare the Maracana, with 70 games, to one of the 30 games, that’s a coward. It is like a person. She has to recover. You go for a walk, then you need a day of rest. Player, they now have all the performance metrics, hey, I’m going to take this player out of this game, because he can’t take it anymore because the battery is big. The player plays from Wednesday to Sunday, and then you always see the coach takes one, and takes another … not here. Here Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday and Sunday.

Is another club fit in the bid?

– For grass, it’s bad. We already have 70 matches here. But we have to sit down and talk. For what we did, that’s it (70 games). We’re not going to 71.

– Well, the information I have is what everyone has, right? At the end of last year, a public hearing was held, people took all the information there, and the government was responsible for compiling that information and such, and putting the public notice in the square, right? We believe this should be announced now in March, so that our union can participate and have a long life of 20 years.

Will the new technology put an end to the problem of grass permanently?

– We worked for her. But turf technology has other alternatives taking place. There are clubs that have their own nurseries to test new technologies. For example, Real Madrid has its field and another field to test. He takes the technology, understands how it is, takes it home, makes a lab and says, Oh, oops, now I want to use it in my garden too. Today, what we have is the best. There are other technologies, but the technology we use here is the best, and it’s among the best.

Is this lab a plan for the Maracana?

Come on, we’re thinking about keeping the maracana, right? So if this public notice happens, it’s in our plans, yeah, to have something similar to this, yeah, so we can run these tests. To do these lab tests, we really have to create an area, just like our lease is there in Sakuarima, we can also do it there, do the tests and then bring it here. Here, on the outskirts of the Maracana, we still don’t have it, but we can do it somewhere else outside here.

I hired here in the garden, worked two million holes, and worked 24 hours a day. This machine, every two years, digs a hole in the lawn. There are eighteen centimeters inside the lawn and two centimeters outside. Because the grass, which we use here for the clubs, is 2.2 centimeters long. So we left it with two. To grow the natural grass, I will cut it without damaging the synthetic fibers we used. Champions League stadiums, from 32 fields, 22 are from this technology, so this machine came to help us. The grass had already been planted, and it also had a fiber booster.

Photosynthesis Auxiliary Machine

– We have it here, we have already said it, but people think that we are looking for an excuse, but it is not true. This is an auxiliary equipment for photosynthesis in the garden. Therefore, after the World Cup renovation procedure, the area of ​​​​the sun on the lawn was reduced. We had an increased shadow area. To compensate for this lack of sunlight, we enter this artificial lighting. Today, Maracanã has three of these lamps, which we will have to start using from now on.