Poligras Platinum CoolPlus: playing surface in Rio Green at HTC Neunkirchen
The future on “garish green turf”
The first thing that catches the eye at the Dr. Otto Jung hockey park is its colour: neon green – the only one in the area around Neunkirchen. Completely revamped in 2017 with funding from the regional sports association and the town council, the facility now has one of the finest and most modern hockey pitches in Rhineland Palatinate and Saarland. Polytan installed a Poligras Platinum CoolPlus synthetic turf, the playing surface in Rio Green and the surround in Gravel. The pitch sparkles brilliantly, especially in sunshine, and the club and players of Hockey- und Tennisclub (HTC) Neunkirchen are not the only ones enraptured by it – spectators and visitors are also delighted with the intensive interplay between the colours. The pitch has now become the photo motif for Neunkirchen, with members of the club reporting that never have so many pictures been taken of the facility.
HTC could well do with the attention, because it has few up-and-coming players. While the club still has its own girls’ section, the boys are having to cooperate with Saar 05 Saarbrücken and Trier. When it comes to hockey, the club is known up and down the country for having staged many German championships. They keep getting enquiries and positive feedback from throughout Germany, says chairman Peter Bäsel, so are hopeful of a better future. Hockey is, after all, the most successful team ball sport, although it does not generate as much money as football does, for instance, which makes it difficult to find sponsors. Nevertheless, the Neunkirchen club has dreams: a multipurpose hall that can be used for hockey training even when the weather is bad.
At present they are entirely focused on the generously dimensioned clubhouse, a scoreboard that can be seen from far and wide, and the modern floodlight system. The Poligras Platinum CoolPlus surface from Polytan, though, is another reason why players and spectators are so enthusiastic, because it has set new standards in hockey as a sport. The high stitch density gives a compact appearance to the turf and allows fast, safe and precise playing with optimum ball rolling behaviour. The tightly sealed surface also means the CoolPlus function of the synthetic turf can be exploited to the full, delivering a cooling effect and reducing water consumption. The pitch in Neunkirchen will be completely cleaned every two years, and Peter Bäsel is confident that it will then last for at least 20 years. The players of HTC hope to have won promotion to the regional league long before then, however.
