Polytan LigaTurf Cross in UCPA SPORT STATION in Meudon
Raising the roof
With almost 50,000 inhabitants, Meudon is located a few miles south-west of Paris and belongs to the Banlieue, which is the peripheral zone around the French metropolis. The town was previously popular as a place of residence close to the capital, where firstly the Old Castle and later the New Castle were built next to each other. This was unfortunately only for a short while as the former burnt down during the French Revolution and the latter was destroyed during the Franco-Prussian war. Large parks and several green areas remained, making Meudon a ‘green town’, where environmental protection is not only emphasised, but also actively encouraged.
The municipality has always attracted intellectuals and artists: it was there that the author François Rabelais spent his last years, Richard Wagner composed his opera ‘The Flying Dutchman’, and where Édouard Manet also stayed for a few months for treatment. Unlike the sculptor Auguste Rodin, he lived in Meudon for over twenty years. After his death, his house was converted into a museum, which today is the town’s most prominent attraction.
The sports complex within the newly built eco-district Pointe de Trivaux in Meudon can also pride itself as being a particularly special urban development highlight. It is rightly a masterpiece in terms of planning and technology as it houses an ice rink as well as an open-air football pitch which can be found on the roof of the building. This combines five different sports areas in a small space, which are particularly popular with young people: a training and playground for football which are accessible to the general public, as well as a privately operated ice rink, eight squash courts, a climbing wall and a fitness centre. The latter includes a cardio and strength training area, a cross trainer area (indoor bike) and a group training room. The geographical concentration in the middle of the city centre creates a space on which a modern, spacious residential quarter with numerous meeting places and many playgrounds has recently been built.
The 8,500 m2 multi-sports complex, which opened in 2021, is operated by UCPA, or the Union nationale des centres sportifs de plein air. The hall is economically and ecologically heated by the heat released during ice production for the railway, which is why the Regional Council of Ile-de-France has funded the project with almost €400,000 for quartiers innovants et écologiques (innovative and ecological neighbourhoods). In the future, around 175,000 visitors are expected annually.
The stadium on the roof of the UCPA Sport Stadium is reserved for football. The pitch is categorised by the French Football Association as Niveau 5, or level 5, and fulfils the criteria for quality and safety to host local, regional and national competitions. The ground houses two pitches side by side and has been equipped with our LigaTurf Cross surface, which is hard-wearing and therefore also suitable for sports schools and professional training facilities. Its combination of smooth and textured filaments makes Polytan LigaTurf Cross the ideal football turf and allows continuous use, even in bad weather.
And the surface fits into the overall ecological concept: it is filled in with EDPM and sand – a plus in terms of quality and ease of care. The playing field only needs to be brushed to keep the grass blades upright and to level out the sand, preventing it from compacting and hardening.
