Polytan LigaGrass Pro in the Eifgen stadium in Wermelskirchen
“Legends” from Borussia Mönchengladbach came for the opening ceremony
As part of an extensive redevelopment programme, the Eifgen stadium in Wermelskirchen – close to Remscheid in the Bergischer Kreis district – was given a modern synthetic surface to replace the original natural turf. The condition was that sand rather than synthetic granules was used in the substrate. The choice for the pitch fell on our LigaGrass Pro textured turf system. With a triangular cross-section, the filament guarantees even better fibre stability and gives the turf more volume and structure. The BiColour scheme also reinforces the natural appearance of the turf with a lush green. The CoolPlus function reduces the extent to which the turf heats up and is particularly effective at reflecting heat radiation in textured turf systems.
In Wermelskirchen our LigaGrass Pro turf system was installed as a purely sand-filled variant and is suitable for multipurpose use – something that the SV 09/35 Wermelskirchen football club has since come to appreciate in training and matches. Line markings for youth and adult football have been made in the playing surface, which covers 7,550 m2. The pitch in the Eifgen stadium is surrounded by a Rekortan M running track in brick red that offers outstanding acceleration and tread elasticity. It is also fast and highly cushioned and delivers impressive sports medicine values, making it rightly regarded as a professional sports surface. That was also one of the reasons why it was installed in the likewise new long-jump area in the Eifgen stadium.
When the new synthetic pitch was officially opened in September 2019, a team of Wermelskirchen veterans offered up a true football spectacle against the Borussia Mönchengladbach legends. More than 600 sports fans availed themselves of the opportunity to see the former players, who ran out as the “Weisweiler eleven” in honour of Hans “Hennes” Weisweiler, coach from 1964 to 1975 of the legendary “foals”, as the club is nicknamed. He led them to the German title three times and later also celebrated success in Cologne, Barcelona, New York and Zurich. The final score was 5-11, but far from being disappointed the spectators were simply thrilled by the Gladbachers. The Borussia Mönchengladbach team included the likes of Hans-Jörg Criens, Peter Wynhoff and Jörg Neun as well as Thomas Kastenmaier, who as a former Bundesliga star has played in arenas across the footballing world. Tradition meets modern – that would be a good summary of his verdict on our LigaGrass Pro: “We oldies are not great friends of synthetic turf, of course. But this one here was really great.” It’s true. And what’s even better is that Wermelskirchen will get to enjoy it for a long time to come.
