New LigaTurf RS Pro II CP in the Stadio Comunale of Virtus Entella:
THE BEST SYNTHETIC TURF IN SERIE B
Since the summer of 2017 professional footballers at Virtus Entella, a Serie B Italian club, have been playing their home games on a LigaTurf RS Pro II CoolPlus pitch from Polytan with Infill BionicFibre granules. The high quality of the synthetic turf made an instant impression not only on players and trainers, but also on the jury for the annual quality rankings, which assesses grass and synthetic pitches in Italy’s Serie B: the playing surface from Polytan in the Stadio Comunale was awarded first place in the synthetic turf category.
Virtus Entella is a traditional Italian club which started playing in Serie B, Italy’s second division, for the first time in its 100-year history during the 2014/15 season. The professional team plays its home games in the Stadio Comunale in Chiavari, which was renovated after promotion to Serie B and now holds 4,150 spectators. In order to ensure suitable conditions for training and competitive play in the future, the badly worn grass pitch was replaced with a modern LigaTurf RS Pro II CoolPlus system from Polytan in July 2017.
High level of player comfort thanks to modern synthetic turf technology
In combination with the 25-millimetre thick elastic base layer, which provides for long-lasting, optimum force reduction, the premium synthetic turf system – which has been specially developed for football – is ideal for the high demands of professional football. The highly resilient smooth filaments are similar to real blades of grass, yet they provide consistently high standards of quality, even when the weather is cold and wet. Players enjoy the same level of comfort as on well-maintained real grass pitches thanks to the addition of Infill Bionic Fibre – modern infill granules made of EPDM rubber with a special organic structure.
The team captain of Virtus Entella, Michele Troiano, also confirmed that the pitch in the Stadio Comunale is of high quality:
"The pitch is outstanding. They’ve done a really excellent job and there is now even less of a difference to real grass. Our impressions have been really positive. Compared with last year, you could say it’s a whole different ball game."
First place for Polytan in the pitch rankings of Serie B
The prerequisite for exciting football matches with top players is an optimal base. Ideally, this should be in the best possible state throughout the year, in all conditions and in every situation. The Italian Liga B put up prize money in order to raise awareness of this requirement among clubs in Italy’s Serie B and to initiate any necessary measures for improvement. The jury, which consists of team captains, trainers, TV producers and the Liga’s agricultural engineer, draws up two ranking lists – one for real grass and one for synthetic turf pitches. Having had LigaTurf RS Pro II CoolPlus installed by Polytan in July 2017, the professional club Virtus Entella is in top place after the first-leg fixtures in the 2017/18 season. Not only is it the first synthetic pitch in football-mad Italy with an Infill BionicFibre system, it’s also the first synthetic turf system from Polytan to have been certified with the FIFA Quality Pro seal of approval.
Polytan_Stadio Comunale_Chiavari.jpg (Photograph: Virtus Entella)
The new LigaTurf RS Pro II CoolPlus synthetic pitch in the Stadio Comunale of Italian second division club Virtus Entella occupies the top spot in the quality rankings of Serie B.
